Hello and welcome to my blog for my stop on the tour for The Magdalenes by Jeanne Skartsiaris. It is a pleasure to welcome you here. Please do have a click round and read some of my other reviews. I read a lot of different genres. I was provided with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes, but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I was intrigued by the premise of this book so signed up for the tour. I realise that this book was one of the BBNYA finalists so it's not perfect, and that is one of my main criticisms of it - it needed a bit of a better edit which did detract from my enjoyment a little bit. But I don't have a lot of criticisms and it is just me being picky.
Jude Madigan is a lawyer, working on settlement cases for her firm. The book is set in Dallas, Texas. Jude's boss is called Drew and he has a lot of time for her. Her assistant is called Katie and she keeps trying to be Jude's friend but Jude is having none of it. The case she is working on is the settlement for a child who was in a car crash with her mother. The mother died and the child is traumatised and Jude is working on a settlement. But then Drew has a strange case for her. A woman called Trudy has died, leaving a legacy behind, and she has several letters that she has requested Jude delivers to some beneficiaries of her money - a halfway house run by nuns.
So, the nuns. They have set up a Magdalene house to help young women who have been sex workers and must complete some rehabilitation in order to avoid prison. The main nuns are Elizabeth and Bernadette. The house is in a bit of a rough neighbourhood but it is an old hotel and has been done up. Jude doesn't know Trudy so she's absolutely baffled as to why she needs to be the one working on this case, but she goes to meet the nuns and the women anyway. She finds herself getting caught up in their lives and the life of the home, despite herself.
Because, you see, Jude grew up as a Catholic. She was raped by the family priest when she was fourteen, and fell pregnant. She was sent to Texas to give birth, and was forced to give her daughter up for adoption. She thinks about her daughter often. Her family basically disowned her and she hasn't been home since. She has closed herself up to friends and socialising, and to the Church entirely. She has been dating a man called Rick, who she has broken up with, but he is refusing to let go of her and is causing her some problems.
A lot happens in the book. Some of it I was expecting, and some I wasn't. I did think parts of it were a bit predictable. But I liked Jude a lot and wanted her to be okay. I would read something else starring her for sure. I also thought that the end went on a bit long - I think I would have cut it maybe two or three chapters before it actually ended. There are also a lot of characters and threads to keep track of. I also thought that Drew flip flopped a lot and I wanted him to be more consistent. I did like the new love interest!
In all I'm giving this four out of five, I did like it and I'm gladI read it.
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