The Truth About Gretchen

The Truth About Gretchen


The Truth About Gretchen
Buy Link: Amazon
Author: Alretha Thomas
Series: Dancing Hills Mystery Series Book 2
Genre: mystery

 

The Truth About Gretchen

Not related to the first book of the series, The Women On Retford Drive, this one is also a mystery of sorts, hence it can be read as a standalone. Gretchen Holloway and Regina Wilson are the heroines in the story, one a filmmaker doing a thesis, the other a grieving sister. The story is in first person point of view, switching between Gretchen and Regina. The first person allows some interesting things to come out, as both girls do have something to show. Since this is Dancing Hills, the place is of course the starting point for the whole scene.

The story

Gretchen has always been dreaming about some guy, the dream starts the same yet she wakes up unhinged somewhat. She believes that her film, her thesis will be able to put an end to the dreams/ nightmares that she’s been having since she can remember. While casting for actors, Regina Wilson comes into the picture. Regina did have an older brother, who was gunned down in 1991, the year that Gretchen was born. The info is right at the beginning, hence it’s no spoiler, but you can connect the dots yourself. Even the cover hints a thing or two right?

After establishing a relationship, the hunt for information begins! Of course, if you have a case this cold, and death of a African American boy on the verge of greatness, you need more than an ice pick. Gretchen and Regina stumble and fight to find out the truth, someone out there must know something right?

Characters

Gretchen Holloway, a filmmaker in graduate school. She wants to make a movie from her dreams, literally. Since the beginning, she knows that there is something about her dream that seemed off. She’s a strong woman, resourceful and quite resilient.

Regina Wilson, or Gina as her friends call her. She’s almost 50 years old, and has been acting on and off for a while. Her older brother Robert was gunned down in 1991, and the cops closed the case, citing that it’s a gang related incident and refused to investigate further. She knows that it’s wrong, but at the lower rung of the socioeconomic status, they have no choice but to accept it. Now that she meets Gretchen, Regina suddenly has hope in finding the truth about what had happened.

Mystery

This is the hard part of the story, only with Gretchen’s dream, they have to extract clues and figure out what happens. The truth was a little… sad, but it paints a picture of injustice when you are at the perceived lower caste. I don’t really know what better word to use, we keep fighting for equality and fairness, and somehow in 2019 this almost never happens?

Verdict

The story is solid, the pace a little slow for my liking, but it suits. The Truth about Gretchen is two women’s quest to find answers and seek justices, a reminder never to give up. Although it does pull the heartstrings a little, but sometimes a book like this can make us remember what’s it like being on the victim’s side. Definitely worth the read.

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