What do You think about Out Of The Dark (2006)?
This is not a new book for me, nor is the author new to me. This one has been on my 'keeper' shelves for some time. I finally got some reading glasses yesterday ... since the paperback print seems to keep getting smaller the older I get. I wanted to try them out and grabbed this book to re-read.This is not a sweet romance story, although romance does play a part, but the story itself is Jade. Jade was taken by her mother to a cult. As you can imagine what a young child's life is under these circumstances, we're talking pedophiles, selling or renting young children. It's not for the faint of heart. It's a sad portrayal of things that happen all too often.Jade makes a friend .. Raphael ... who is also a child of the cult. He has no parents..not even a last name. He saves Jade's life and they go on the run. Years later, they are still together .. he is her protector, her guardian. Due to strange circumstances, she finds out that her father is still alive and has been looking for her for 20 years. And it happens at a time when Rafael learns he is dying. He's not afraid of death, but it scares him to think of leaving Jade behind. She needs someone to show her how to live her life without all the fear.It's all about Jade .. her ability to learn to trust again. To have someone love her without the pain. She is portrayed so perfectly. She's like a young child growing up for the first time while an adult. Jade is a lot stronger than she thinks. And she's met a good man who's willing to give her space to grow up, to know that she can make it on her own, but she doesn't have to.There are moments that I had to grab some tissues. You just cannot read this without shedding a few tears along the way. And Luke is the man we all wish we could meet.I am so glad I happened to walk by a display of reading glasses. They work wonderfully and they made re-reading this wonderful book so much easier.
—Linda Strong
Sam Cochrane has never given up hope of one day finding out what happened to his daughter and wife twenty years ago. When a new lead is found by a family friend, he sends close friend and ex-cop Luke Kelly to see what he can find on the artist who painted a picture of his wife.Jade has spent her life in hiding with her best friend Raphael, they both share the same horrific pasts and when a woman questions them about one of Jade's paintings it starts a series of events that leads Luke to finding them. When a reuinion between parent and child goes awry and Jade's life is put at risk, Luke will stop at nothing to protect her.Powerful story. It was filled with emotion, I cried almost the whole book as Jade relives her past. There is a lot of tragedy in this book, but there is also a lot of hope and promise for the future. Jade'a transformation as she begins to heal is brilliantly written. I could go on and on but I don't think I could possibly find enough words to give this book the justice it deserves.
—Emily
When Jade was four, her mother joined a cult and took her with her. Her mother died when she was six and for the next six years, she was pimped to child-molesters by the cult leader, Solomon, until her friend Raphael, a boy three years older than her who was also being abused in the commune, took her away. After that, they lived on the streets mostly, Raphael contracting AIDS during this time. Jade is a talented artist and manages to keep them fed by selling her paintings, but when a painting she did of her mother falls into her father's hands, he sends Luke, a private investigator and ex-cop, to find her. Luke finds her and persuades her and Raphael to go to her father's, but the reunion gets the attention of the media and some of Jade's abusers recognize her, leading to murder attempts to keep the scandal from coming out.I was so excited when I read this book's summary, but it was a big disappointment. Jade's moments with her father were rushed and not as poignant as I would have liked. There could have been so much there. I know it's a romance novel and all and that it's expected for the focus to be on Jade and Luke, but their relationship could have been so great. I didn't enjoy a single scene she had with Luke. Luke wasn't a very interesting character and they had zero chemistry. And as always, even though she's been so horrendously abused, she's mysteriously attracted to Luke almost from the start. The sex came way too easily, and even though her best friend is dying of AIDS, they don't hesitate to do it without protection.There was a scene in which a police officer is asking about why someone would want to kill her and Raphael, and she bares all. I hated this scene. There were a lot of cheesy, melodramatic lines, and I hated the way it wasn't just her and the police officer, but her dad, Luke, and some shrink are also present. Awful, awful read.Oh, and Luke at one point tells Sam that all these bad things are happening because Sam's wife abandoned him and abducted their child. Didn't anyone watch that movie Enough? It's not kidnapping when the mother takes the child.
—Rhapsody
