Pickering's Lane - 06/03/2007

I finished "Pickering's Lane" last week. I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to shout out its virtues and urge everyone to buy it. You see, its authors are acquaintances of mine. Jeremy worked in Human Resources and Cindy worked in Accounts Payable at my corporate office several years ago. We never met, but we spoke a lot over e-mails. They were eclectic and fun. I remember when this book was in the works. They were so excited to be publishing it. It came out in 2002. Back then, I really did not have the extra cash flow to spend $16 on a book I could only get at Amazon or on iUniverse's website. The years passed and Jeremy & Cindy left the company.

Recently, I found an e-mail I had printed as a reminder to buy the book. I had congratulated them on getting their book published back in 2002. In cleaning my desk, I found this e-mail & I ordered the book.

Pickering's Lane is a book about several characters. A woman Paige and her young blind son who lose their husband/dad to a murder. Their friend. DianaMarie, who although she is white, is taken in by the elder of an Indian tribe and taught the ways of the Protector Spirits. She meets strong opposition from most of the tribe who cannot swallow having a white woman learn their ways.

Paige & her son move to Pickering's Lane and that's where the troubles begin. The book deals with Indian mysticism & lore. There are demons and protector spirits in modern times. The book title does not mesh well with what's going on in the book. The characters are two-dimensional; I don't know them. I want to feel like I know them. (like the Monkeewrench crew). I SO wanted to like them, but the book moved so fast, changed between characters so quickly, I barely got to know them. I need more backstory. How did DianaMarie struggle through her teachings? The Indians don't like her; show me what she had to go through to be the warrior she is now. It would have been good to learn all about her; maybe in her own book, before we throw in a new town, new people, an evil spirit, a good-looking forest ranger with identity issues, a drugged up indian woman, the leader of the Indian group - a wize old lady and DianaMarie's only support, a blind boy with a gift, etc., etc.

It was a quick read and I liked it. I wanted to love it, so you would love it and buy a book to support two cool people.