Everyone knew that Roanne never got angry—until the night she killed her ex-husband and herself. Roanne, a nice, suburban lady in her sixties who works at a Hallmark shop and volunteers at the Food Bank in Round Rock, Texas, calls her lifelong friend, Connie, confesses to murder, then puts the gun to her own head. Connie, spurred by Roanne’s last words about a lifetime of unspoken rage, sets aside her work as a cozy mystery writer and cupcake shop owner to confront the men who have stolen her dignity while she remained silent, including a bully brother, a rapist, and an ex-spouse. On a journey to reclaim her inner power and to make peace with the loss of her treasured friend, Connie’s mission is to avoid the same tragic path as Roanne, but she takes along a gun, just in case. Paper Targets, by Patricia Watts, calls us to speak our own narratives, even when it is uncomfortable or risky, and shows us the magnificence of a friendship that transcends time.
Reviews
Reviewed by Fatima Aladdin
Everyone knows that women are nice and women do not get angry, and Roanne was living proof of that, until she wasn’t – living nor nice and not angry.
After years of bottling everything in, Roanne murders her ex-husband and commits suicide. Her last words were not an apology, but simply an advice for her best friend not to live the same way.
After listening to her best friend of over 50 years take her own life over the phone, Connie decides to stand up to all the men in her life who had hurt her and made her feel worthless and angry – an emotion she couldn’t show at the time. And if things go wrong? She has a gun with her.
The story is an absolute page-turner. Every scene, every word, every situation is bound to have readers diving head-first into this book. It has everything; action, horror, crime, drama, and romance.
The plot sheds light on really important issues like family dynamics, parenting, substance abuse, regrets, assault, sexism, discrimination – all matters that women still find relatable nowadays (unfortunately).
Each character introduced plays its role to the fullest, no part of the book feels like a boring filler, but it is all skillfully put together to build the characters and their psyche.
The writing is amazing. The author’s voice is very engaging and entrancing, it was impossible to put the book down once I had begun reading.
Everything about this book is fascinating – the writing, the characters, the plot, and the emotions. This book and its characters are bound to stay with readers long after it has been finished. Despite being fictional, the message within is the realist it can be.
I recommend Paper Targets by Patricia Watts to all lovers of fiction in general, but especially to those who feel like they’ve been wronged at one point (and, honestly, who hasn’t?).
Look Inside
© Patricia Watts | Powered by Atmospherepress