Tabula Rasa

Nightingale & Bly #1

by Shelly Reuben

Meet arson investigator Billy Nightingale and his brother-in-law, Officer Sebastian Bly, who are called in to investigate a house fire that killed two young children. Suspicious details at the fire scene-and the discovery of a baby hiding underneath the porch-put Billy and Sebastian on the trail of a murderous mother while Sebastian and his wife, Annie, raise baby Meredith without revealing her dangerous and frightening past.
Meredith grows up to be a promising young ballerina- her ambitions fueled in part by the fictional past that Sebastian and Annie have invented for her. But the truth threatens their charmed family circle as Merry's biological mother returns to finish what she started.
Tabula Rasa is not only a gripping and entertaining crime novel but also a sensitive, warm exploration of the deeper issues of what defines a family and an individual.

Genres: Mystery

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Shelly Reuben's first novel, Julian Solo, was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for an Edgar Award and by the Libertarian Futurist Society for a Prometheus. Her crime novel, Origin and Cause, was nominated by the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan for a Falcon; and her adult fable, The Man with the Glass Heart, was a Freedom Book Club selection. Her fiction has been published by Scribner, Harper, Harcourt, and is also available through Blackstone Audio Books.

Her new book, Dabbling in Crime, November 2016, is a collection of short fiction originally published in The Forensic Examiner and The Evening Sun.

Shelly Reuben is a licensed private detective, and the years that she spend investigating fire and arson inspired many of her stories and books.

Reviews

[Jansi Patel · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was interesting bc of the nature vs nurture topics that are sorta talked abt. but not really. interesting isn’t totally a compliment. they just lie to their daughter and literally gaslight and fabricate her whole existence instead of being straight up from the beginning. even the part abt the arson/baby killing mom is so unrealistic. like her husband didn’t connect ANY of the dots???? like why did SO MANY of your kids die and you not question it WHAT and ALL of them in a fire??? also, the characters WERE so hard to keep track of esp in the beginning when the backstory is given for every character but you don’t know what’s going on bc you’re literally 10 pages in. it is well written IG but not for me bc there’s too many logical fallacies for me to look past. ALSO!!! the little blurb gives away every detail abt the book. don’t spend time reading the book, the blurb is sufficient in giving away every detail.

[Catie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelly Reuben knows how to capture your attention and hold it! She fully develops the characters and appropriately paces the action. She writes lovely prose and uses analogies to engage the reader, transporting him or her to the place and time in the story. I could almost smell the soot!

[T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was on board with the book's premise until it changed to "lie to your kids for half of their life to manipulate them" and that decision also was somehow vindicated. Yeah, the original mom was awful, but the new parents "protecting" their kid by keeping the truth from her is awful, too.

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this book, I really did. It was one of those fun reads to just sit down with and read for fun. It didn't require me to think or feel a lot, but it may do that for some. It's a beach read... so you may want to pick it up the minute it comes out on August 1st so you can read it while soaking up those last rays of summer.

There's not a lot I honestly want to say about the book. One flaw it had was that it's characters weren't all that developed. They sort of had one personality type that went through with them throughout the entire story. Also, at times, the 18-year-old Merry's mature attitude after finding out about her real past, could be a bit weird to some readers. I can understand it though. Young adults who have become absorbed into one sort of art form (in Merry's case, ballet) tend to mature a little faster because they gain a certain dedication most teens don't have. Um, I'm going to stop because I'm not explaining it very well and I'm not sure exactly how to explain it, but I could see why Merry acted so mature.

Overall the book was pretty good. Um... yeah.

P.S. I also grabbed this book off the freebies shelf at my old work because of the title and the fact that it reminded me of LOST. It did help me learn exactly what Tabula Rasa means.

[Margaret Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about nature vs. nurture as it affects a small child. State Trooper Sebastian Bly and Fire Marshal Billy Nightingale rescue a baby who escapes from an arson fire set by her own mother. They arrest the mother, and then Sebastian, his wife Annie, and her brother Billy set about to raise the child. What happens next has a fairytale-like quality of good people determined to slay the dragons of fate. Can they create a fictional mother so innocent, talented, and beautiful that her mythical essence is stronger than the reality of a biological mother so evil, that she is still determined to extinguish the life of her last child? Tabula Rasa is a page-turner with a heart.

[Margaret Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about nature vs. nurture as it affects a small child. State Trooper Sebastian Bly and Fire Marshal Billy Nightingale rescue a baby who escapes from an arson fire set by her own mother. They arrest the mother, and then Sebastian, his wife Annie, and her brother Billy set about to raise the child. What happens next has a fairytale-like quality of good people determined to slay the dragons of fate. Can they create a fictional mother so innocent, talented, and beautiful that her mythical essence is stronger than the reality of a biological mother so evil, that she is still determined to extinguish the life of her last child? Tabula Rasa is a page-turner with a heart.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about nature vs. nurture as it affects a small child. State Trooper Sebastian Bly and Fire Marshal Billy Nightingale rescue a baby who escapes from an arson fire set by her own mother. They arrest the mother, and then Sebastian, his wife Annie, and her brother Billy set about to raise the child. What happens next has a fairytale-like quality of good people determined to slay the dragons of fate. Can they create a fictional mother so innocent, talented, and beautiful that her mythical essence is stronger than the reality of a biological mother so evil, that she is still determined to extinguish the life of her last child? Tabula Rasa is a page-turner with a heart.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about nature vs. nurture as it affects a small child. State Trooper Sebastian Bly and Fire Marshal Billy Nightingale rescue a baby who escapes from an arson fire set by her own mother. They arrest the mother, and then Sebastian, his wife Annie, and her brother Billy set about to raise the child. What happens next has a fairytale-like quality of good people determined to slay the dragons of fate. Can they create a fictional mother so innocent, talented, and beautiful that her mythical essence is stronger than the reality of a biological mother so evil, that she is still determined to extinguish the life of her last child? Tabula Rasa is a page-turner with a heart.

[Lindaschwebke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fabulous read. Not be be missed.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not a fan of Meredith's biological mother and thought she should rot in a hole. Good thing she had Annie and Sebastain and Uncle Billy to help raise her into a beautiful lady and dancer. This book was slow moving and I wanted a few bangs to get things going faster.

[Bnhereb4 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story that caught me off guard. I picked it up because of it's unique title. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down until the end. Even when you experience a "tabula rasa" sometimes, your past will find a way to catch up with you.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book. I think it was the combination of the authors style of writing and the readers interpretation that made it so enjoyable. But, don't let that keep you from reading with your eyes instead of your ears. You'll like the characters, especially Annie.

[Mary Newcomb]

Arson, adoption and ballet feature in this interesting story about a most unusual family,