Book Review: “Saving Ruby King” by Catherine Adel West

“Saving Ruby King” by Catherine Adel West

Genre: Fiction, Mystery

Page Length: 352 pages (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

Family. Faith. Secrets. Everything in this world comes full circle.

When Ruby King’s mother is found murdered in their home in Chicago’s South Side, the police dismiss it as another act of violence in a black neighborhood. But for Ruby, it means she’ll be living alone with her violent father. The only person who understands the gravity of her situation is Ruby’s best friend, Layla. Their closeness is tested when Layla’s father, the pastor of their church, demands that Layla stay away. But what are his true motives? And what is the price for turning a blind eye?

In a relentless quest to save Ruby, Layla comes to discover the murky loyalties and dark secrets tying their families together for three generations. A crucial pilgrimage through the racially divided landscape of Chicago, Saving Ruby King traces the way trauma is passed down through generations and the ways in which communities can come together to create sanctuary.

Saving Ruby King is an emotional and revelatory story of race, family secrets, faith and redemption. This is an unforgettable debut novel from an exciting new voice in fiction and a powerful testament that history doesn’t determine the present, and that the bonds of friendship can forever shape the future. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

This novel packs a heavy punch from the beginning! Told through multiple point-of-views, the narrative is constantly shifting between characters and periods of time. The novel mainly follows two best friends, Ruby and Layla who live on the South Side of Chicago. Layla is a Preacher’s daughter and her father is hiding secrets. Ruby is broken after the death of her mother and wants to desperately escape her abusive father.Alice King’s untimely death is shrouded in mystery and opens up many secrets about the past.

Everyone has so many secrets in this novel that feel like it’s going to burst at the seams. People keep up appearances, but on the inside they are broken and filled with regrets. West really connects the readers with the characters and reveals the hidden depth of their thoughts. Among the mystery plot West tackles numerous subjects in her story such as racism, gentrification, church, abuse, and police brutality.

That’s where we all end up anyway— dead, with some kind of ball in our hands or paraded around in front of reporters and carted off to cages. History comes around to visit sometimes and the repeats ain’t always pleasant. That’s what they think about us: we’re entertainment or sacrifice of some sort.

It’s interesting to see how all of the narrative intertwines as the story progresses. When the past starts to repeat itself then things feel very real. Saving Ruby King is a difficult read, but a well written story. The characters and the plot have such depth to them. The multiple pov aspect had me heavily invested in the story. As soon as West gets to a cliffhanger point she switches characters viewpoints to reveal yet another piece of the puzzle.

The narrative is tightly woven throughout the story, but as the plot progresses the secrets start to slowly unravel as secrets come to life. Each character is dealing with immense trauma that is shown in different forms. The more I read, the deeper I was pulled into the characters web. I liked the intense dialogue, realistic characters, and the suspense factors that gave it a mystery feel. This novel also packs in a lot of social commentary that is relevant without bogging down the story as a whole.

This book overall packed a powerful punch. It never lost its momentum over the entire course of the story. West’s writing kept me invested in the story that paints of vivid portrait of Chicago’s community, but also a story of characters who’s lives are forever changed by subsequent events. This is a fantastic debut novel!

TW: Violence, Death, Abuse, Rape

Final Verdict: