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A Defect of Character: A Novel
In the early 1920s, Jake Witherspoon, a prominent DC attorney, moves his family back to his hometown to help his widowed mother. He also wants to give his family the chance to leave the turmoil of the big city and live a quiet, small-town life in the beauty of rural Arkansas, where living is easy and nothing much happens.
At least that was the plan. But to paraphrase Robert Burns, “The best-laid plans of mice and men / Often go awry.” Jake is not used to having his plans go astray—or anywhere he has not intended, for that matter.
So when he wakes up one quiet morning in his mother’s house in Hulet, Arkansas, and has no idea what has been happening in his own life for the past several years, he’s forced to piece together his painful old life and examine the man he was—and the man he wants to be.
Filled with mystery, suspense, and political intrigue, A Defect of Character is the powerful tale of one man’s journey from selfishness to self-discovery against a backdrop of deceit and murder in 1920s Arkansas.
375 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2015
6 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Kay Hawkins
2 books12 followersPamela Kay Hawkins changed hats several times on a daily basis in her long career as a freelance writer. In those days she wrote under the last name Broughton, and under that name published several picture books for Golden Books, a division of Western Publishing, now sadly gone.
After earning a BA in English Literature, with a double minor in history and journalism, Hawkins continued to further her academic career at the University of Oklahoma, earning an MA in (a very long degree title) Journalism/Mass Communication with an Emphasis in Creative Writing, a degree which is now called an MFA. Landing a teaching job at the same university, Hawkins decided to study toward a PhD in English Literature/19th C.English History/Philosophy. Unfortunately there was an economic downturn, so lacking one course from ABD, she starting her professional writing career.
After marrying her current husband, she moved with him and two of her sons to Tulsa, OK, where she began teaching at what is now Tulsa Community College. She taught for two years, then left to pursue her novel writing. That morphed into writing music, a children's music CD, "Rockin' the Day Away" still available on iTunes, and a collaboration with friends which resulted in an unproduced musical play, and a desire to paint.
Painting was not a last resort; it was a delayed passion, as life and writing had forced her to abandon this artistic avenue. Now, she has two novels published, two more in the works, and time to watercolor, if she's not marketing. She loves reading, writing, music, watercolor, photography, and most of all, her family.
After earning a BA in English Literature, with a double minor in history and journalism, Hawkins continued to further her academic career at the University of Oklahoma, earning an MA in (a very long degree title) Journalism/Mass Communication with an Emphasis in Creative Writing, a degree which is now called an MFA. Landing a teaching job at the same university, Hawkins decided to study toward a PhD in English Literature/19th C.English History/Philosophy. Unfortunately there was an economic downturn, so lacking one course from ABD, she starting her professional writing career.
After marrying her current husband, she moved with him and two of her sons to Tulsa, OK, where she began teaching at what is now Tulsa Community College. She taught for two years, then left to pursue her novel writing. That morphed into writing music, a children's music CD, "Rockin' the Day Away" still available on iTunes, and a collaboration with friends which resulted in an unproduced musical play, and a desire to paint.
Painting was not a last resort; it was a delayed passion, as life and writing had forced her to abandon this artistic avenue. Now, she has two novels published, two more in the works, and time to watercolor, if she's not marketing. She loves reading, writing, music, watercolor, photography, and most of all, her family.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 30, 2015
The Blurb:
In the early 1920s, Jake Witherspoon, a prominent DC attorney, moves his family back to his hometown to help his widowed mother. He also wants to give his family the chance to leave the turmoil of the big city and live a quiet, small-town life in the beauty of rural Arkansas, where living is easy and nothing much happens.
At least that was the plan. But to paraphrase Robert Burns, “The best-laid plans of mice and men / Often go awry.” Jake is not used to having his plans go astray—or anywhere he has not intended, for that matter.
So when he wakes up one quiet morning in his mother’s house in Hulet, Arkansas, and has no idea what has been happening in his own life for the past several years, he’s forced to piece together his painful old life and examine the man he was—and the man he wants to be.
Filled with mystery, suspense, and political intrigue, A Defect of Character is the powerful tale of one man’s journey from selfishness to self-discovery against a backdrop of deceit and murder in 1920s Arkansas.
The Review:
First off, lets talk about Jake Witherspoon. He handsome, charismatic, intelligent, and self-centered. Not the kind of self-centered that comes across as arrogant. In fact, on some levels, he would be considered to be a fairly humble guy. However, Jake is completely unaware of how his actions affect those around him. There are times that I really liked him and others when I just wanted to shake him and ask him, "What the heck is your problem?"
Overall, the characters portrayed in A Defect of Character are believable and the dialogue is consistent with the time period. It's apparent that Hawkins did her homework where language and lifestyles are concerned. The rough story line concerning the murder mysteries of the book are based on The Strange Death of President Harding by Gaston B. Means and in and of itself is an interesting idea.
There are a lot of twists in the mystery plot and a decent amount of characters with aliases to keep track of that I found it a little difficult to keep things straight at times. Just don't read it while you're sleepy :). I also found that Hawkins writing style is fairly unique and takes some getting used to. The book is written in third person past tense and changes perspective unexpectedly at times. I also felt that she used parentheses a little excessively (although that may not be the case with the purchased version).
My favorite part of the book was the romance between Jake and Jenny. I'm not big on romance books, but I do enjoy a little romance in the story. Hawkins does a fabulous job balancing Jake's personal life with the mystery side of the story.
The moral of the story? Everything we do affects those around us, for better or for worse. Jake learned this lesson the hard way. But he also learned the all important lesson of true forgiveness and the freedom and joy that it brings.
A special thank you to Pamela Kay Hawkins for offering me a copy of A Defect of Character in exchange for my honest review.
www.julaynadams.wordpress.com
In the early 1920s, Jake Witherspoon, a prominent DC attorney, moves his family back to his hometown to help his widowed mother. He also wants to give his family the chance to leave the turmoil of the big city and live a quiet, small-town life in the beauty of rural Arkansas, where living is easy and nothing much happens.
At least that was the plan. But to paraphrase Robert Burns, “The best-laid plans of mice and men / Often go awry.” Jake is not used to having his plans go astray—or anywhere he has not intended, for that matter.
So when he wakes up one quiet morning in his mother’s house in Hulet, Arkansas, and has no idea what has been happening in his own life for the past several years, he’s forced to piece together his painful old life and examine the man he was—and the man he wants to be.
Filled with mystery, suspense, and political intrigue, A Defect of Character is the powerful tale of one man’s journey from selfishness to self-discovery against a backdrop of deceit and murder in 1920s Arkansas.
The Review:
First off, lets talk about Jake Witherspoon. He handsome, charismatic, intelligent, and self-centered. Not the kind of self-centered that comes across as arrogant. In fact, on some levels, he would be considered to be a fairly humble guy. However, Jake is completely unaware of how his actions affect those around him. There are times that I really liked him and others when I just wanted to shake him and ask him, "What the heck is your problem?"
Overall, the characters portrayed in A Defect of Character are believable and the dialogue is consistent with the time period. It's apparent that Hawkins did her homework where language and lifestyles are concerned. The rough story line concerning the murder mysteries of the book are based on The Strange Death of President Harding by Gaston B. Means and in and of itself is an interesting idea.
There are a lot of twists in the mystery plot and a decent amount of characters with aliases to keep track of that I found it a little difficult to keep things straight at times. Just don't read it while you're sleepy :). I also found that Hawkins writing style is fairly unique and takes some getting used to. The book is written in third person past tense and changes perspective unexpectedly at times. I also felt that she used parentheses a little excessively (although that may not be the case with the purchased version).
My favorite part of the book was the romance between Jake and Jenny. I'm not big on romance books, but I do enjoy a little romance in the story. Hawkins does a fabulous job balancing Jake's personal life with the mystery side of the story.
The moral of the story? Everything we do affects those around us, for better or for worse. Jake learned this lesson the hard way. But he also learned the all important lesson of true forgiveness and the freedom and joy that it brings.
A special thank you to Pamela Kay Hawkins for offering me a copy of A Defect of Character in exchange for my honest review.
www.julaynadams.wordpress.com
Displaying 1 of 1 review