Hot Springs

A strong 4. Quirky characters (including a child) take off on a hasty road trip, which certainly made me think of The Flying Troutmans, as well as Little Miss Sunshine. Contrary to opinions on another website, I think the author does a very good job of making the major characters feel real, thus making the reader interested in what will happen to them, flawed as they are. Maybe the plot isn't totally believable, relying on too much coincidence to move things along. And we don't get fully into the mind of the adoptive mother right away, so it's hard to understand why she didn't go right to the police, but I think that gives us a clue to her character; she knew what had happened, and was practicing what she preached and believed. Of course, this is set in contrast to her hypocritical husband, who like some other lesser characters was more one dimensional. It might have taken many pages and subplots to bring them out more, and that might have detracted from the main story. Overall, an entertaining and heartfelt read.

Becker once again plays all the requisites: brains, music, sweep, intimacy, humor, a keen eye, patience, impatience, learning and compassion.

Manic and irresponsible behavior are the two main ingredients in Geoffrey Becker's //Hot Springs//. The novel's protagonist, Bernice Click, is a thirty-something-year-old Gen X-er who decides--on a whim--that it would be best to move her daughter from a sleepy Arizona town to the bustling metropolis of Baltimore. The only problem is that Bernice gave her daughter, Emily, up for adoption five years ago to a seemingly nice Christian couple. From the start of this novel, readers are given a glimpse into Bernice's madness. And from this madness comes Bernice's rationalization for kidnapping Emily. Bernice's likable aloof personality slowly pings away at readers' emotions until they are convinced that--yes--it is best for the child to be with her biological mother on a cross-country drive. Also falling under the spell of Bernice's roguishness is Landis, her boyfriend and accessory in the late-night kidnapping. Once in Baltimore, more tidbits about Bernice's life are revealed, and here all pity is lost for this lost soul. Bernice's pings of the heart are seen for what they really are--a felony. Becker is a phenomenal storyteller; only a writer of his caliber could have pulled this off so well. Reviewed by Joseph Kopaczynski