JADINE
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RECKLESS INDIFFERENCE
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SILENT CRY
Reviews
for JADINE
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“Jadine Tomecelli
is a complicated, seductive character in this unsparing look at the wages of
abandonment in childhood. Veazey sets up tensions and their consequences in
evocative prose interspersed with vivid scenes
of deadly acts of violence.
Jadine is a nuanced study in moral
ambiguity in this unnerving story of a life imploding, developing
relentlessly in power and resonance, propelling you to an ending that is
wrenching and unforgettable.”
Robert
Henderson, Boston Book Club
“Jadine is a poignant tale of hope and
despair, of a girl drifting through time in a reality all her own, grasping
for something to hold onto. The hard facts of her life mock our most
cherished American ideals: family, community, opportunity; and when the
expectation for justice sours, the playing rules of life become frightening
and something different altogether.”
Barbara DeWall,
Arizona Review
“Following a series of heartbreaking events
and dealing with more tragedy than she can handle, Jadine transforms herself
into Jade, even as bad luck follows her like a storm cloud. Jade’s longing
for approval and love is scorching and sad, and Veazey keeps the reader
hoping until the very end for her salvation.”
Benjamin Hoyt,
Literary Reviews
“Jadine is a true account of
Jadine Tomecelli whose traumas early in life fracture her ability to trust
herself and others in this psychological drama. Her fate intertwines with
Native American Billy-John as the two orphans struggle against their past.
Visual moments of passion and rage, both graphic and poetic, propel you to
an ending you will never forget, or forgive.”
Wendy
Shapiro, Tampa Book Club
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Reckless
Indifference
Nominated for a 2009 New Hampshire Literary
Award
for Outstanding Book of Fiction!
Reviews for RECKLESS
INDIFFERENCE
“In this crime novel, Veazey takes us on a wild ride around the
East coast, as she dramatizes a case of police malfeasance that rings all too
true. By dint of a vivid imagination and some detective work of her own, the
author illuminates the crisscrossed lives of a half-dozen characters. She weaves
a tangled…and dazzling…web.”
Pagan Kennedy, Writer-in-Residence, Dartmouth
College
“If you think that
being arrested without evidence or probable cause can’t happen to you, think
again. Julie Bigg Veazey has assembled a cast of opportunists and victims who
could hang or redeem themselves. Reckless Indifference is a
searing indictment of the abusive power of one corrupt individual over another
person’s life. The story builds into a gripping crescendo as you alternately
love and hate the
characters.”
Robert
Henderson, Boston Book Club
The suspense of the novel rests on the
psychological portraits of Tony and Eric, antagonist and accused. The author is
dead-on in her illustration of Eric’s malaise—the depiction of the helplessness
and disbelief with which he faces his persecution is fascinating and vivid.
Veazey shows with bone-chilling accuracy that while the courts purport to
believe in the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven, the concept is
often overlooked. An accusation can be as damning as a conviction, and Eric
loses the support of his wife, children, boss and even lawyer, as he descends
further into the system. Reckless Indifference is a crime novel
that mines interesting, unconventional sources for tension.
Kirkus Discoveries
“Reckless
Indifference” is a well-written novel that will have you hooked from the
first page.
The characters are very well developed and their personality traits and
actions will definitely evoke strong feelings from the reader. The book
really makes you think about how the fabrication of evidence can have such
devastating and life-altering effects on one man and his family’s being. It
will also make you question whether or not the phrase “innocent until proven
guilty” really means anything. The story flows smoothly and will hold your
interest until the last page is turned. I recommend this book to anyone who
enjoys psychological and legal fiction.
Kam Aures for Rebecces Reads
TAUT PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM N.H. AUTHOR
Local author, Julie Bigg Veazey, puts flesh on the bones of nightmares in
her second novel, a psychological thriller of one man's life wrested from
his control.
Eric Nordblum is already a bit down on his luck. His marriage is on the
rocks after his brief affair with a co-worker and his wife has thrown him
out. He misses his boys and his home. And then a cop shows up at his door
and begins asking strange questions and with a skip and a slip Eric's life
begins a downward spiral that gains velocity with every page.
Through various viewpoints, including perps, witness and cops, the reader
knows what Eric does not — a trio of jewel thieves has been targeting a
particular chain of stores, which the cops now have staked out. But the
sting operation is botched, resulting in the shooting of a store manager and
the escape of the criminals in a car that looks a lot like Eric's, right
down to the bent antenna, an all but fatal detail.
The lead investigator is an ambitious, but lazy and unprincipled cop, who
really needs to get this collar. He latches on to Eric's and begins to build
his case, unchecked by his more cautious partner, or, later, the dawning
realization that he may be fitting up the wrong guy.
Meanwhile Eric finds himself in a maelstrom of disaster as his support
structure — family, friends, job — his very place in the world, begins to
fall away.
Veazey, also author of the coming-of-age novel "Silent Cry" (available at
RiverRun Books in Portsmouth, Water Street Books in Exeter, and on
Amazon.com), and a book of poems, "Merrymeeting," portrays the vortex of
fear that grips an innocent person caught in the gears of a faulty system.
She shows how minor errors, cover-ups and personality flaws can accumulate
until injustice attains a life of its own that mere humans seem powerless to
stop. A page-turner and a cautionary tale.
Lynn Harnett of Kittery, Maine for
Seacoast Sunday
Reckless Indifference, in
the capable hands of Julie Bigg Veazey, becomes a cleverly constructed legal
yarn about the unjust targeting of a guiltless man and his battle against the
very law that was designed to protect the innocent. It is an engrossing read
that winds through the bureaucracy of our legal system as the intertwined
actions of the characters irrevocably change the lives of both the innocent and
the guilty. The most frightening aspect of the book is: “There but for the grace
of God go I.”
Cheryl Brown, Atlantic Book Club
“Weaving an emotional shuttle
through circumstances that evoke a passion for justice, this novel leaves you
with a gnawing need for the truth that escapes in the tatters of Eric’s
unraveling life. Reckless Indifference explores an intricate net
of lies and how they eventually ensnare the spinner. Once again, Julie Bigg
Veazey’s characters, through vivid dialog and action, envelope the reader with a
scary look at reality.”
Robert Leigh Meek, Chemistry of Power
“Inconceivably, the destiny of a
flawed but hard-working husband and father becomes determined by an ambitious
beat cop who fabricates one reckless untruth which leads to another and another
until three states are involved in an entanglement of deceit. With fascinating
perception into each character, the author leads the story into legal recourse,
tragedy and redemption.”
Barbara DeWall, Arizona Review
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Reviews
for
SILENT CRY |
“Julie Bigg
Veazey explores the ferment and contradictions of the 1950s at an elite
boarding school. Like Muriel Spark’s masterpiece, The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie, Veazey offers part social commentary, part moving character
study, both urgent and tangible. Silent Cry signals the debut of a
deft new talent.”
Ellen Tanner Marsh, New York Times best-selling author
“An action-packed
story about the trials of a privileged girlhood. Set in late 1950s
Connecticut, Veazey’s debut explores the daily life of six high-schoolers at
all-girl Winthrop Academy, New England’s most respected prep school. Akin to
Mary McCarthy’s The Group, with a dash of Peyton Place, this
spicy bildungsroman revolves around Nancy Walden, who is sent to Winthrop
midway through her senior year as punishment… …. Not without a few
unexpected twists, the fast-paced storyline gains momentum as it
progresses…this boarding-school story is a page-turner.”
Eric
Liebetrau,
Kirkus Discoveries'
“…a searing
look back at
an era of double standards and cloistered perversion... The story centers
on three emotionally charged girls and the painful initiations of the adult
world. Silent Cry takes surprising twists and turns which keep the
reader guessing to the very end.”
Cheryl Brown,
Atlantic Book Club
“Poignant, utterly
convincing, Julie Bigg Veazey looks into the private world of prep school and
privileged childhood in this suspenseful tale. The spicy, fast-paced storyline
gains momentum as it hurls us toward a shocking
finale.”
Robert Leigh Meek,
Chemistry of Power
"Silent Cry draws us
into the exquisite anxieties of adolescence in this empathetic and sharply
observant novel where the genuine characters are funny, strange and complex,
spinning and weaving toward a conclusion with a macabre twist.”
Sally Michener,
Visual Artist
"It is a rare pleasure when
a finely crafted novel also grips us and sweeps us forward with sheer
storytelling power. A delicious, voyeuristic, long look into the private
world of a girls’ boarding school is amply rich fodder for a compelling
tale, but Julie Bigg Veazey is equally adept at rendering quieter,
individual drama. Playful and poignant, dramatic and droll, Silent Cry
rings with Veazey’s poet’s voice."
Barbara DeWall, Arizona Review
AS
REVIEWED BY BOOKS UNDER REVIEW
Julie Bigg Veazey's Silent Cry is a realistic fictional portrayal of life in
a boarding school during the
'50's. Its excellent characterization and riveting plot keep the reader
thoroughly engrossed through surprising twist-turning events until the very
last page. A must read.
Silent
Cry is a wonderful read.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-18
Silent Cry is the kind of book that you can easily lose yourself in. You are
instantly carried into the life and times of the 1950's. The characters are
introduced in such a way that you feel connected with them from the very
beginning. The author has a magical way of telling a story. As I read the
book I was thinking about who might play the characters if the book was
brought to the big screen. It would translate wonderfully!
An
Accurate Depiction of the 50's
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-08
I hardly know where to start. As a reader of the usual best seller novels,
this story held my interest to the point where I could hardly wait to see
what happened next. The lineup of characters, both the students and the
faculty at Winthrop Academy, were all so vividly portrayed that in my mind I
started to have favorites. As a guy who was just slightly older than the
girls at Winthrop at that time, I visited a similar school for a social
event that had similar boy/girl restrictions. Even today I find it hard to
know the thoughts of young girls so vividly brought out in this book. Julie
Bigg Veazey deserves the highest praise for this work. I hope to see more of
her writing in the future.
Fantastic
First Novel
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-03
I found "Silent Cry" was just a great book to sit down and read. I was
intrigued by the plot and after meeting the author I couldn't wait to find
the tiime to sit down and read her work. The girl's featured in this book
were very real and had the same fears/insecurities/cliques/drama that any
girl in high school faces today. They were a lot of fun to get to know and
the twists in the plot took me completely by surprise. I hope there are more
works of fiction coming soon from this author and I would be honored to host
those authors signings as well!!
A
good read
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-10-21
Few would name the 50s as their favorite decade, but those who lived through
it, especially if they happened to go to a straight-laced private boarding
school, are likely to remember feeling conflict between the normal impulses
of adolescence and the imposed manners and mores of a time reminiscent of
the Victorian era. Such is the case in Silent Cry, a novel that explores the
concluding months in the senior year of a small group of girls "privileged"
to attend Winthrop Academy, an elite all-girls' school in Connecticut. Nancy
Walden enters in the middle of senior year, sent away by her family to avoid
"disgrace." She meets a group of girls who are each struggling with their
own inner demons. Intense bonds and conflicts develop, and Nancy experiences
the first true friendship she has ever known. Dramatic incidents propel the
novel along unexpected lines, keeping the reader guessing until the very
end. Julie Bigg Veazey demonstrates a keen eye for physical detail and
psychological nuance in this first novel.
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