Random Placement

by Lindsay McFerrin Bates

Just as she reaches the end of her financial and emotional rope, 1.5 million dollars lands in Holly Sullivan's checking account. The young widow doesn't know it yet, but her life is being transformed by an event fifty years ago and a world The 1963 illegal Jogini "dedication" of an Untouchable girl in rural India. When the bank confirms the deposit is legitimate and the money is hers, Holly asks no questions, but flees New York with her little boy for a new life in Maine, leaving behind the scene of a family tragedy she's been forced to conceal from her son. Although the move to Bar Harbor brings healing, Holly has mixed feelings about the money. Unable to leave well enough alone, she takes steps to identify her anonymous benefactor and find out why she was given a fortune. Her inquiries lead to a phone call in which Holly hears a cultured, masculine British voice say, "This is Sam Campbell. I understand you've been looking for me." Sam is utterly driven by a plan that was formed long before he knew Holly existed. He agrees to meet with Holly in Bar Harbor, but surprises her with his firm refusal to discuss the money or to answer any questions until he has told her his "long story." Holly's curiosity leads her and her son on a luxurious trip to London and Hyderabad, as Sam gradually reveals his plan, the role of the Untouchable girl, the evils of the Jogini system, and his startling motive. On the journey a relationship blossoms, and in a surprising twist, the life of yet another stranger is transformed.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was a relatively quick read that I stormed through in a couple of days - wanting to know exactly what would happen and how everything would turn out. The revelations and climactic moments throughout the book are introduced in an extremely clever and well-worked manner which is probably what I enjoyed most about the novel.
Random Placement is extremely well-paced as we move forward and backwards in time looking both at the situation of Holly and her son Keegan and also the mysterious Indian girl who has fleed the awful constraints of her home life and the Jogini system she has been sold into. Before reading this novel I knew nothing of the Jogini system - I knew of things of this type existing but had never been able to put a name to them so was really fascinated to read more about this particular element of the novel, which is so central to everything that happens.
The novel moves quickly from New York to Bar Harbor to London and eventually Hyderabad as Holly and her son are taken on a journey by Sam whose motives are fascinating and when his plan is revealed, it makes perfect sense - in a just deserts kind of way.
As the novel is quite short and plot driven, it did lack depth when it came to understanding the Jogini system and related elements but this didn't detract from my enjoyment as a big block of informative text would not have worked well with this novel. I would be interested however to read more about the subject and believe the author's style would be perfect for another novel of the same style based solely in India - that's just wishful thinking though.
A fascinating and interesting look at a piece of history I knew very little about - insightful.
Beth Townsend - The Kindle Book Review

[Henry Le Nav · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good first novel by this author. A young single mom receives an incredible amount of money from a stranger and she embarks on a remarkable trip to find out why. The author built the plot with the skillful use of jumping back in time and returning to the present, carefully unravelling the story and keeping the readers interest. The characters were well developed and again the author maintained the reader's interest by progressively unveiling more of the character's personality through the novel. One of the aspects that I enjoyed about the book is that it is not a syrupy romance, although it had a bit of a romantic element build through the story.

What the author has really done with this book, and I hope will prove helpful, is to bring to light the terrible circumstances of the plight of young girls that are sold into the brutal life of a Jogini. Hopefully a greater awareness of this practice will help to eventually stop it.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable! I'll revise this with a full review in a few days.