Not One of Us Book Review

I received this book as one of my free Amazon First Reads for January 2021.

Not One of Us was a mess for me almost from the first page. Unfortunately, my first read of the year was not at all enjoyable and I finished simply to be able to provide a review (when I get them free from Amazon, I feel a responsibility to review it). Otherwise, I would have stopped reading at about the 25% mark.

The premise of the book is that Jori Trahern returns to her hometown where her grandmother has been taking full-time care of her severely autistic brother. Unfortunately, Mimi is having dementia-related issues and is no longer up to the task.

In Jori’s past is the disappearance of her high-school boyfriend and his entire family some years earlier, and the murder of a cousin she was pretty much too young to know.

The murder of her cousin’s murderer dredges up the past and sets up the events in the current day.

Perhaps a good premise, but poorly executed, and of very little interest to me.

One of the issues I had with this book is the author’s choice of words or phrasing. At times it seemed like she was trying to show off her vocabulary, and while the words were correct, they were awkward and just didn’t work, and when used in conversation did not sound true to the character who spoke them. I made note of a couple examples before giving up: “scurrying” to the body. A cop saying “another neighbor relayed.” Relayed, really? “En route” vs on the way?

I gave up being irritated by this as the other problems I had with this book became bigger.

Having been a caretaker of an elderly person with some cognitive and memory issues, I know how difficult it is. I also know however, that if you take on the responsibility, you take it 100% because the stakes are so high.

Jori did not. At all. She’s out with Dana, drinking enough to get buzzed enough to know she shouldn’t be drinking that much while Mimi is at home with a brother autistic enough to need a full-time caregiver. She’s slipping out of the house, and claiming “I deserve this respite.” If you need respite, you get someone to take over your duties before take it.

It was extremely difficult, in fact impossible, for me to feel any sympathy whatsoever for Jori.

She is a terrible caregiver; not committed, and while not everybody is able to take it on, since she obviously isn’t, she should give it up if she cares about the people in her life like she says she does.

At 20%, I made a note that Jori is a selfish, pitying, loser that I didn’t like at all. That opinion never improved. Later in the book (at 80%) I added the words immature, petty, reckless, and irrational.

Petty because she states she had a “grudge” with Tegan. Because her 24/7 security detail is being pulled. Apparently Jori has no idea or just doesn’t care that in a small town the police might have other things to deal with. Immature because of the way she spoke to the police at the blessing, going so far as to say “whatever.”

I did not understand Jori’s trip to see Grace or Ardy. The trips seemed totally out of the blue, though Ardy’s less so after Grace’s.

I don’t hold Tegan in much higher regard either. She is unprofessional, naïve, and seems like an immature teenager trying to impress someone she has a crush on. After Jori’s juvenile outburst, Tegan runs after her and talks to her, and then chooses to act, in her own words, “recklessly”.

I don’t have a lot of experience with law enforcement (OK, none) and criminal investigations, but an investigating officer revealing information to someone outside the investigation doesn’t seem like proper procedure to me.

Just as Jori shouldn’t be a caretaker, Tegan shouldn’t be a law enforcement officer. And if that’s too harsh, which it may be, she certainly should not have been promoted. She needs to grow up a little.

Dana’s outburst was another situation that seemed almost contrived, and just out of place. How much did it add to the narrative? For me, not much other than another head shake.

I could go on and on, but it’s just more of the same for me in this book. There were just too many problems for me to enjoy any aspect of Not One of Us.

I give this book 2 stars, mostly because I did finish it.

Not One of Us, by Debbie Herbert, Kindle edition, Thomas & Mercer Feb 1, 2021.