Book Review: The Nobodies Album
The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Well-known author Octavia Frost has re-written the last chapters of all her previous novels and compiled them in her newest book, The Nobodies Album. When she arrives in New York to drop the finished manuscript off at her publisher’s office, she learns that her son Milo has been arrested for murdering his girlfriend Bettina. Even though Octavia and her famous musician son have been estranged for four years, she immediately heads to California to offer her help. She discovers that Milo can’t remember the events of the night his girlfriend died and doesn’t know whether or not he was the one who killed her.
This book is so much more than a murder mystery. Interspersed throughout the main story are exerpts from Octavia’s other books that include the original last chapter and the new, revised last chapter. Octavia talks about how authors put themselves in their work whether they realize it or not. The excerpts from her other books serve to illustrate what regrets Octavia has about her life. I thought this was a unique method of telling a story and I really liked it.
The murder mystery story-line was exciting and kept me guessing up until the end. Additionally, I appreciated the realism of Octavia and Milo’s relationship. They were both well-developed, layered characters – relatable but not always likeable. Flashbacks to when Milo was a child help the reader understand why his relationship with his mother is so complicated today. I highly recommend The Nobodies Album.
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