Paper Targets by Patricia Watts
by
Patricia Watts
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Pages: 324 pages
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Scroll down for a giveaway!
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.
With pathos and humor, 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.
CLICK TO PURCHASE!
| Amazon | Author's Website | Barnes & Noble |
Patricia Watts worked as a journalist for more than 20 years for newspapers in Texas, Hawaii, and Alaska. Following her news career, she tried her skill as a paralegal and then spent ten years investigating discrimination cases for the Alaska Human Rights Commission. Her novels include: Ghost Light and The Big Empty, crime mysteries co-written with Alaska author Stan Jones; The Frayer, suspense noir; and Watchdogs, a steamy thriller. Her home base is San Diego. She earned her B.A. in journalism at Humboldt State in California. She is the mother of a son and daughter and has eight grandchildren.
| Website | Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads | Reedsy Discovery |
.png)
Thank you to the author
and LSSBT for providing a review copy of Paper Targets.
Paper Targets
starts with a bang, literally. Connie gets a call from Roanne, her best friend
of fifty years. Roanne admits to killing her ex-husband and then kills herself.
Connie is devastated. How did she not see this coming? Her friend’s death sets
her on a life-altering path of reflection, confrontation and forgiveness.
The story of Connie and
Roanne unfolds in a back-and-forth style, as Connie reflects on their five
decades of friendship. In her last words, Roanne rages against the men in her
life who held her back, controlled her or diminished her self-worth. Connie
realizes she shares similar feelings and sets out to confront the men who have
hurt her, physically and emotionally.
I enjoyed this book.
I’ll admit to being close in age to Connie and the passages describing her
teen-aged years and early twenties resonated with me. More than that, the story
really sucked me in, watching these two young girls, with hopes and
aspirations, grow up, get married, and eventually lose their grasp on their
tattered dreams. I felt deeply sorry for Roanne. Her plight was believable and
well written. Connie was a multi-faceted character, and I loved getting to know
her and cheer for her as she set out to slay her own personal demons.
I highly recommend this well-written, engaging story to readers of women’s fiction.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
______________________________________________________
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
GIVEAWAY!
TWO WINNERS:
First Prize: Autographed copies of Paper Targets, The Frayer, and The Big Empty
Second Prize: Copy of Paper Targets
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 8/5/22.)
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY,
or visit the blogs directly:
|
7/26/22 |
Excerpt |
|
|
7/26/22 |
BONUS Promo |
|
|
7/27/22 |
Review |
|
|
7/28/22 |
Character Interviews |
|
|
7/28/22 |
BONUS Promo |
|
|
7/29/22 |
Review |
|
|
7/30/22 |
Playlist |
|
|
7/30/22 |
Bonus Review |
|
|
7/31/22 |
Author Video |
|
|
8/1/22 |
Review |
|
|
8/2/22 |
Notable Quotables |
|
|
8/3/22 |
Review |
|
|
8/4/22 |
Review |
blog tour services provided by
I have a feeling this story would resonate with lots of women, and it sounds like time well-spent reading it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDelete