Janeology is a mesmerizing read!

Janeology by Karen Harrington

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

ISBN 13: 978-1601640208
Publish date: April 2008
Hardcover; 256 pages; $24.95
Fiction; Legal thriller; Paranormal

Janeology is a mesmerizing read!

Janeology is a unique and captivating blend of legal drama and paranormal suspense. Jane and Tom Nelson represent an average American family, with twins Simon and Sarah, and the family dog. But one incomprehensible act forever changes their lives: Jane attempts to drown her children and the dog—and only one survives.

What follows is unexpected. Instead of the courtroom drama with Jane in the hot-seat, we’re taken to a time when she is already committed to a psychiatric hospital, and Tom now stands trial in his own fight—the battle to prove that he was not responsible for his wife’s actions, that the charges of “failure to protect” will see him as innocent.

Starting off as a legal thriller, the novel takes an interesting detour when a psychic with family ties is brought in to provide an unusual and compelling genealogical defense—that Jane inherited her indifference and un-motherly qualities from generations of ancestors.

I found the flashbacks into Jane’s ancestors’ lives very intriguing, and some of the complexly drawn characters still linger in my mind. Karen Harrington expertly paints her characters with multiple layers, and with vivid imagery that quickly carries the reader through the pages. You won’t want to put it down.

Perhaps the author has touched upon a truth here. Having actually known and befriended a woman who, years after I’d lost touch with her, had abused, imprisoned and starved her young son to death, I have asked myself many of the same questions that Tom asked. What makes a mother kill her own child? Why didn’t I recognize the signs?

Janeology is a novel you won’t soon forget. I know I won’t. It delves into a highly sensitive topic that is sadly ripped from the headlines in nearly any given month and is never discussed in such detail. All in all, Janeology is a mesmerizing read! I can’t recommend this novel enough!

~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
author of Whale Song

View all my GoodReads reviews.