DEALER’S CHILD BY Joanna Vandervlugt
Canadian author Joanna Vander Vlugt is well known for her Woman Empowered motorcycle art series as well as for her short stories and novels – the thriller series JADE AND SAGE, of which DEALER’S CHILD is the second volume.
Continuing the adventures of her vivid characters, sisters Jade and Sage Thyme, the author proves her mettle in magnetizing the reader with a fast-paced, realistic involvement with the drug world and crime while adding a paranormal twist the elevates the raw themes to the sensitive state. Written with polished prose and immediacy, the novel opens with atmosphere: ‘Oscar Cooper pushed aside the KFC bucket and wiped his fingers in the napkin Edith gave him. “Thank you.” He crumpled the napkin, tossing onto the living room floor. “Anything else you want?” Edith asked. “No.” He picked up the shot glass and sipped the last drops of Glen Dronach Revival. Drug dealers like him do not grow old. His industry didn’t include a retirement plan. You were either carried out in a body bag, or buried alive. But by some dumb-*** luck he managed to beat the odds His partner Archie wasn’t so lucky. Hell’s gate was expecting his arrival… ‘ Opening a story with an assisted fentanyl suicide suggests the suspense that follows, and the plot is distilled as follows ‘Jade Thyme must delve into her mother’s free-spirited past if she wants to prove her father was murdered and hadn’t died from a cocaine overdose. Legislative Clerk Adam Young husband gives Jade damning evidence linking her to the island’s once feared drug dealer, Oscar Cooper. Immediately Jade and her sister Sage are targets as they uncover generations of drug dealers, while hiding from an arsonist determined to destroy them. Is it all connected? From her mother’s ghost appearing on the picnic table to a possessed typewriter tapping a warning, 1968 clashes with the present as Jade uncovers a deadly secret while trying to stay one step ahead of a murderer hellbent on revenge.’
Raw, terrifying at times, rich in references to contemporary chaotic issues such as drug dependency, and propelled by the motorcycle characters so well enhanced by the author’s illustrations, this novel is a compelling read – one of those books that, once started, dares us to pt it down. Very strong writing, this! Recommended
