⋙ Download Gratis The Virgin of Small Plains A Novel of Suspense Nancy Pickard 9780345470997 Books

The Virgin of Small Plains A Novel of Suspense Nancy Pickard 9780345470997 Books

Download As PDF : The Virgin of Small Plains A Novel of Suspense Nancy Pickard 9780345470997 Books

The Virgin of Small Plains A Novel of Suspense Nancy Pickard 9780345470997 Books

Great literature this is not. This suspense-thriller/murder mystery is built solely on plot, and even that is quite thin as I figured out the gist of it about a quarter of the way in (although I give author Nancy Pickard credit for a surprise twist at the end). The characters are one-dimensional and don't ring true to life. The writing is stilted, and the characters' conversations feel contrived. Several of the key plot points on which everything else depends are completely implausible. Worst of all, it reads like a poorly-written soap opera. That said, if you enjoy the genre of suspense, you may enjoy this book. Otherwise, skip it.


Tags : The Virgin of Small Plains: A Novel of Suspense [Nancy Pickard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Small Plains, Kansas, January 23, 1987: In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteen-year-old Rex Shellenberger scours his father’s pasture,Nancy Pickard,The Virgin of Small Plains: A Novel of Suspense,Ballantine Books,0345470990,HDT3791.1AJ04042011H29190A,Cold cases (Criminal investigation);Fiction.,Mystery fiction.,AMERICAN MYSTERY & SUSPENSE FICTION,Cold cases (Criminal investigation),FICTION Mystery & Detective General,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Fiction General,Fiction-Mystery & Detective,GENERAL,General Adult,Kansas,Mystery & Detective - General,Mystery fiction,MysterySuspense,PICKARD, NANCY - PROSE & CRITICISM,Suspense,United States

The Virgin of Small Plains A Novel of Suspense Nancy Pickard 9780345470997 Books Reviews

I really enjoy reading the mid-western and Canadian authors. Nancy Pickard loves her State of Kansas. There are so many evil characters in murder mysteries. This is the second of her books I have read. "The Virgin of Small Plains" is set in the Kansas Flint Hills.

The story begins when Abby Reynolds is driving on a cold wintry day and sees her old high school boy friend's mother walking in the cemetary dressed in night clothes. She loses control of her vehicle on an icy road and can't get to the older woman. Nadine Newquist has Alzheimers and doesn't know night from day, winter from summer. Abby contacts an old friend, a boy she has grown up with. The Reynolds, Dr. Quentin, The Newquists, Judge Tom, The Shellenbergers, Sheriff Nathan are the finest families of this small Flint Hills town. Sheriff Rex Shellenberger comes to her rescue. But elderly Mrs Newquist is frozen to death.

The book goes back seventeen years, to a cold winter night. Abby is sixteen and in love with Mitch Newquist. Sheriff Shellenberger and his two sons go out looking for cattle due to calf to bring them in. This small town is surrounded by cattle ranches and many citizens own ranches. Rex, then eighteen, gets out and finds a beautiful young woman, naked in the snow and frozen to death. Who is this girl? Father and son pick her up and drive her to the home of Dr. Reynolds. The dead girl is carried in, the two boys stay outside. Dr. Reynolds smashes her face so noone can recognize her. The two men don't know that a teen age boy looking for drugs is hiding in a cabinet where medical supplies are kept and knows what has happened. The next morning Abby goes to Mitch's house. He has moved out of town to go to a better school says his mother Nadine. She wants her son away from Abby. Mitch is too good for her, a small town girl. He needs more out of life than her and this small town.

Citizens of the town have a funeral, place a gravestone on the burial site which becomes famous. Characters come from many places to visit the grave. The grave of the dead unknown girl becomes a shrine. Characters drive to the grave asking for favors, for love problems, health problems, to become wealthy. Characters stop by the grave and talk, telling life stories to the dead girl,

Seventeen years have passed. Abby has never left her small town. She owns a lawn and landscape business. Rex becomes the town sheriff. Neither has married.

This book has many twists and turns. The end will surprise readers.

I like the way Ms Pickard brings the environment and nature into her books.
I enjoyed this book very much. The characters are well developed and for the most part interesting. The time switches from 1987 to present day and attention needs to be paid to the chapter headings. The mystery is revealed slowly. Some reviewers have stated that they think the ending is rushed, but from the many mysteries I have read, the wrap up is always fairly quick. My 4 star review comes from the fact that there is a little bit of romance involved and I do not care for that. That part is a little too chick lit for me. The supernatural aspect of one element is a little to convenient and odd for me. Overall, a satisfying mystery & quick read. I think this would make for a good or similar venue series.
Storms rage through this novel.
A blizzard threatens the cattle and closes the school. Seventeen years later a tornado blows through town wrecking several business.
Rex Shellenberger is a senior in high school when he finds the frozen body of a naked girl. She’s few years older than he is. A blizzard rages around him and the girl. Seventeen years later, Rex is the sheriff, and the girl’s identity is still unknown. Well, Rex knows who she was and so do a few others. He also knows who the killer is. Why isn’t he making an arrest?
This is a book about secrets which can be as deadly as storms. Many people in Small Plains are acting strangely.
The doctor smashes the dead girl’s face. He hopes that will keep people from identifying her. Rex’s dad who is the sheriff at the time Rex found the body, made little effort to discover what happened to the girl. In fact, he was present when the doctor destroyed her face, and claimed he was doing what had to be done.
Both Rex’s best friend Mitch and Rex’s brother Patrick leave town that night, and they don’t return for many years.
Rex himself is keeping secrets. But he didn’t kill her. And neither did his two best high school friends, Mitch and Abby. Seventeen years later all three are haunted by the story of the girl who is now known as “the Virgin of Small Plains,” and who has become somewhat of a legend. Several people claim miraculous cures after visiting her grave. She can cure bad debt, cancer and arthritis. She’s made the town famous and improved business. But that isn’t why her murder remains unsolved.
What brought that girl to the empty farm field where she froze to death? Why did the sheriff, the judge and the doctor cover up her identity and fail to investigate the crime?
The author is very skilled not only in how she reveals the clues, but in how she keeps the characters stumbling around, misinterpreting each other and the clues. Characters lie for many reasons, but only when each truth is carefully laid side by side does the full puzzle reveals itself. The reader needs to keep guessing and to keep reevaluating the clues.
Great literature this is not. This suspense-thriller/murder mystery is built solely on plot, and even that is quite thin as I figured out the gist of it about a quarter of the way in (although I give author Nancy Pickard credit for a surprise twist at the end). The characters are one-dimensional and don't ring true to life. The writing is stilted, and the characters' conversations feel contrived. Several of the key plot points on which everything else depends are completely implausible. Worst of all, it reads like a poorly-written soap opera. That said, if you enjoy the genre of suspense, you may enjoy this book. Otherwise, skip it.