The Shaft Reviews
The Shaft by Evelyn Gale wrapped me in from the first to the end. Well written, fast paced, no word clutter--I had a great read.
I loved the reaction of the heroine, Rachel Beckman, when she found her husband murdered. Her grisly smile was understandable; after all, he'd beaten her for the pleasure the beatings fed to his nasty control-hungry appetite.
Finally free of him, Rachel finds she has become so dependent on his control that she must relearn the freedoms she had as a younger woman. Each step, even driving a car, is a brave walk back to finding her spirit.
Couple this journey with the discovery that any one of half a dozen people could have murdered her husband--and someone is after her, and Rachel finds that she must dig even deeper for courage. But from this search, Rachel discovers that she has a mind that can't resist exploring the puzzle pieces of the crime and a spirit to go after the suspects. She is a natural, albeit still somewhat timid, and her thinking is way ahead of the police.
Gale wrote using her farm wife background as a research tool. Her characters spun from the mosaic of rural America breathe with the spirit and life she's given them.
Rachel's search for the murderer, while she, herself, is a suspect forced me to become involved. Perhaps, it was Rachel's lack of grief that sent the police in the wrong direction; or maybe they didn't like her clever logic, which left them in the dust. Even Rachel's connection to Earl Martin and friendship with Jerry Walton made the police suspicious. For whatever reason, Rachel must find the proof to convince the police that she is the victim, not the perpetrator. I look forward to Evelyn Gale's next book.
Jean Morkert Tiedtke © 2000
Rating: 4 stars
Evelyn Gale has written an intriguing mystery novella that grabs you with the first sentence and doesn't let go till the ending one.
In The Shaft, an abused farm wife, Rachel Beckman, finds her husband's dead body entangled with a piece of farm machinery. In shock, she runs to a neighbor's house as there is no phone on her place. The sheriff insists on doubting her story even to the point of suggesting she caused her husband's death.
Rachel has been abused by her husband the entire six and a half years of their marriage, but she could never have done that. She tells the sheriff that as she approached the place where her husband died, a white pickup was speeding away.
Terrorized by Earl, a friend of her deceased husband, and taunted by the sheriff who wants to prove her guilty of murder, Rachel spends days of terror and fear at the secluded farm. You will be drawn into this story as you cheer for Rachel and shake with fear with her. In the end her courage and wit solve the crime. This book is the first of a continuing series with Rachel as sleuth.
Lyn Morgan copyright 2001
Rating 5 stars
Hungry for a story with an intelligent heroine, characters with depth and an unpredictable plot? This is your book! Evelyn Gale wraps it all in this easy-to-read first novel. Gale accurately and effectively chronicles a woman's spiritual journey from old fears to new freedoms. A must-read for anyone struggling on the leash of abuse or just eager for a well-written mystery. Order it today; you won't regret it!
tnerem, Director of Christian Education copywrite 2001
