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Book Review of The White Pearl

The White Pearl
The White Pearl
Author: Kate Furnivall
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
23dollars avatar reviewed on + 432 more book reviews


As someone who absolutely adored Kate Furnivall's THE JEWEL OF ST. PETERSBURG, it pains me to say I was terribly disappointed in THE WHITE PEARL.

Opening line:"It was not the first time Connie had killed someone, but today there were witnesses."

How can we go downhill from there? I'll tell you. The remarkably dense main character, Connie Hadley, was unfortunately not very likable. Ditto for the person she killed and the secondary characters who subsequently enter her life...I never connected with a single one of them, which made me very apathetic to the dynamics of their relationships and where they would lead.

I also found the setting so unpleasant, even for commercial storytelling. I'm not sure what it's like today, but Malaya in 1941 sounds absolutely dreadful and by the 200-page mark when they finally hop the yacht to flee? I was hopelessly disengaged. From there it was easily skimmable to the end.

I'm still a faithful fan of the author so I hope the next book is miles better. For this one? C-