Jackie's Week
Wordbeams -- (www.wordbeams.com)
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REVIEW BY JOHN MESSER
Single and attractive, 48-year-old Jackie has a good life even after two failed marriages. Good, that is, until she is brutally attacked and raped by a violent felon caught stealing her car in a parking lot near her Los Angeles condo. Jackie's Week, David LaGraff's third romantic thriller, brings Jackie's downward spiral into despair and her ultimate triumph into virtual reality as she comes to grips with the demons that have stolen her life. In the days and weeks following her attack, Jackie leaves her job as an executive secretary and her comfortable condo to find obscurity in a large apartment complex. The break with her past is complete as fear and guilt replace confidence and self esteem. The seven days that make up the story's title begin when Jackie's younger sister Donna introduces her to Dr. Black, a sympathetic but unconventional therapist that some readers will recall from LaGraff's earlier works, All That Was Happy and A Small Matter. Married to a wealthy banker with strong Mafia connections, Donna is no stranger to the stress and anxiety that have incapacitated her sister. Dr. Black diagnoses Jackie's problem as a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and begins a treatment program to restore her lost identity. Although Black's treatment seems punishing, Jackie is making progress until the detective handling her case reports that they have a suspect they want her to identify. Since the suspect already has two prior major felony convictions, Jackie's rape and carjacking would make his third and final strike. The week's closing actions include some less than subtle moves by a Mafia kingpin, the adoption of a retired police dog and a budding romance. Quite a week. LaGraff's clever descriptions of "life draining traffic jams" and "neon fortified smog" neatly capture the flavor of Los Angeles. He even manages to weave tender moments into the maelstrom as Jackie pulls her life back together. Additionally, publisher Wordbeams provides a convenient, easily accessible format that accommodates interruptions. Mystery thriller lovers, as well as confirmed romantics, will find much to enjoy in Jackie's Week. Fortunately for all, LaGraff is hard at work on still another novel. John Messer is a writer in Michigan.
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