Age Of Consent

Wow, this is one hell of an impacting story and despite the title and suggestive book cover, there is no gratuitous sex or anything to upset a sensitive reader.

This very strong story is told on two timelines thirty years apart mainly by Bobbie, the abused teenager. We start in 1978 with Bobbie and Craig in a motel room and we more than get the idea that Craig is not a pleasant person and that Bobbie is in an uncomfortable position that she can't easily get out of. In modern day language, Bobbie has been 'groomed' by Craig and he's manipulated her in such a way that anything that is wrong is her fault. He makes sure that she feels guilty enough of a situation that she feels duty bound to continue to see him and ensures all their meetings are kept secret, no one must find out. Bobbie feels she needs to clean the motel room, or at least make it appear that she/they have not been there. In searching under the bed for any dropped items of clothing, she stumbles upon a rolled up thousand dollars. Much of the story centres around this money which suddenly becomes Craig's money. After an horrific car accident, Bobbie's mother, June, becomes involved with Craig.

Thirty years later, Bobbie has brought Craig to court for his abuse of her when she was a minor. The case is all the more difficult in that Craig is now her step-father and her mother has to testify against Craig and/or Bobbie – supporting one may lose the other from her life. All the above is either in the first chapters or the book's blurb, I am giving no more of the story away but the decisions, lies and issues raised give a very compelling and gripping read.

The characters are well developed and Craig in particular has a paranoid and complex personality – not a nice person but a great fictional character to read about. The lawyers and scenes feel real and well researched although I did have one obvious question that the defense lawyer should have asked and expected that to be part of a twist.

http://martileimbach.com/

#FiveStars #Fiction