FICTION

Calf

by Andrea Kleine
Soft Skull. Oct. 2015. 304p. ISBN 9781593766191. $24; ebk. ISBN 9781619026773. F
COPY ISBN
The attempted assassination of President Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. and the 1982 murder of a ten-year-old girl by her mother in Washington, DC, are the inspiration for this debut. Kleine's stand-in for Hinckley is Jeff Hackney, a troubled loner pressured by his family to make something of himself. His delusions of a music career and obsession with a starlet bring him first to California and then, fatefully, to the nation's capital. Meanwhile, preteen Tammy is having family troubles and struggles to fit in at her new school. When her younger sister's best friend is murdered, Tammy and her peers try to make sense of the tragedy.
VERDICT Kleine gets the details of growing up in the early 1980s exactly right; in fact, the Tammy sections of the book read very much like the Judy Blume books that are often referenced. Kleine fictionalizes just enough of Jeff's story to add suspense and presents a plausible psychological portrait of a killer. The author's personal connection to the second case (the murdered girl was a childhood friend) perhaps led to a bit of overreach, as her attempts to get inside the mother's head and connect the two stories feel somewhat forced. Nevertheless, this is a tense page-turner.
Reviewed by Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis , Oct 15, 2015
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

FICTION

Viscount in Love
by James, Eloisa
FICTION

Pardon My Frenchie
by Rochon, Farrah
FICTION

Match Me If You Can
by Hegde, Swati
FICTION

To Love the Brooding Baron
by Flint, Jentry
FICTION

Frequent Fliers
by Kirwan, Noué
FICTION

Under Your Spell
by Wood, Laura
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?