Review Day: The Circle

Photo from RG Lawrenc

It's Review Day!!

Today's book is....

Title: The Circle
Author: R.G. Lawrence
Price: $.99 (eBook format only)
My rating: 5 stars out of 5

To purchase, click on the title of the book, book cover photo or use the Amazon shop tab above.

Amazon Description:
High school teacher Cicely Manley cannot accept the official police version that her favorite student, Lisa Dennis, overdosed on heroin, the same day she signed a scholarship offer to play major college soccer. Cicely is convinced that Lisa was murdered, and she will stop at nothing to prove her student a victim; and to punish whoever killed her young friend.

Manley, with the help of her friend and landlady seventy-year old Margaret O’Connor, begins an investigation into the girl’s bizarre death, only to discover a local drug network operated by middle school skaters, a child porn ring that rakes in millions a year, and teenage hit men.

Deciding that they are in over their heads, Margaret seeks help from some of her old friends from days past, the Irish Circle, a group of ’honorable’ Irish mobsters. By bringing in Tommy O’Malley and his group of Irishmen, Margaret and Cicely level the battlefield. The Circle has the firepower to go head to head with any other criminal elements in the area, and they mean to use all of it to insure the safety and success of their two friends.

Going undercover to flush out the murderer she is looking for, Cicely instead finds herself held captive by a group of criminals that have a large burying field containing the bodies of hundreds of children they have abused, terrorized and murdered.

Facing certain death, Cicely tries desperately to escape before she permanently joins the children of the field. That is, unless the Circle can uncover all the layers leading to Cicely, Lisa’s murderer, and the largest child pornography ring in the country. (end)

The plot, characters and twists keep you guessing and wanting to know more. I LOVED the plots twists, characters and Lawrence's writing style.  Every time I thought I had something figured out... WHAM! I was hit with something new, something that changed everything.  It was so much fun being able to piece together the puzzle as I continued reading and trying to figure out exactly who the bad-guy(s) were.

I loved the characters Cicely and Margaret.  They are two wonderful women who just want to get to the bottom of Lisa's murder.  Cicely is a school teacher, and a very nosy one.  She wants to help her students be everything they can be.  When she comes across Lisa, a girl with a terrible past that nobody saw coming, Cicely fights to get the girl into college and back into being an average teen.  When Lisa dies, Cicely's whole world is turned upside-down.  She can't let it go, doesn't understand it, and knows someone else is to blame.  With her friend, landlord and roommate Margaret by her side, Cicely takes charge of the situation and finds more than she could ever have imagined.

I recommend this novel to anyone over 16-17 who is looking for a thriller/mystery novel that keeps you guessing until the very end.  If you are a fan of any cop, CSI, NCIS type of shows - you will love this book.  The content is a little too mature (pornography, prostitution, sexual favors, illegal drug use) for anyone under the age 16 - so parents be careful unless you feel comfortable with it.  Lawrence did an amazing job of not keeping the tone too heavy or too light with these touchy subjects.  Overall, an outstanding book and only $.99 on Kindle! Happy Review Day!