
As a book reviewer, it’s not often I’m lost for words (in a good way, I hasten to add), but The Black Widow Connection (Blue Star Book 1) by TK Rising has had that distinct effect on me. What I thought was a simple story of an abused and beaten down, by society, woman, suddenly morphed into something totally different that threw me for six and had me thinking deeply about philosophical insights into our purpose of being. Tracy Kirin had a tough life. She was abused as a child, by her father and neglected by a mother who knew about the abuse and did nothing. She drifted through her life, forming only partially meaningful relationships, drifting from job to job, never really putting her roots down anywhere, always tormented by unexpected tragedies and weird dreams. She is determined not to repeat the sins of her parents but is unable to ever feel “at home” or “comfortable” anywhere – and then she dies. I’m not even going to hint at what happens to Tracy after she dies as I’d hate to spoil the surprise for future readers but suffice it to say, it surprised, shocked and stunned me.
The Black Widow Connection (Blue Star Book 1) is right up there among the oddest and yet strangely most satisfying books I’ve ever read. Author TK Rising’s imagination and interesting theories (if that’s what they are) make for fascinating reading in the second half of the book. The whole premise of the book turns upside down in part two of the story and it is that premise that makes this story such compelling reading. Having written off the character, Tracy, as a hopeless and incapable woman, suddenly the reader is introduced to a new woman, one who has the ability to make a massive difference in the future of humanity and life on earth. This juxtaposition between live Tracy and dead Tracy is what lifts this story out of its sad and listless beginnings. A very readable story suddenly becomes a totally compelling tale after 50% of the book is read. I salute the author’s bravery and note that this is merely the first of a series of Blue Star Books. I can only say, I am compelled to read on and see what happens next.
