♥ The Blurb ♥
On May 15, 1975, fifteen-year-old Ginny Lemon is abducted from a convenience store in Fort Lauderdale by a member of one of the most notorious and brutal motorcycle gangs in South Florida.
From that moment on, her life is forev
er changed. She gets a new name, a new identity and a new life in the midst of the gang’s base on the edge of the Florida Everglades—a frightening, rough and violent world much like the swamps themselves, where everyone has an alias and loyalty is tantamount to survival.
And at the center of it all is the gang’s leader, Grizz: massive, ruggedly handsome, terrifying and somehow, when it comes to Ginny, tender. She becomes his obsession and the one true love of his life.
So begins a tale of emotional obsession and manipulation, of a young woman ripped from everything she knows and forced to lean on the one person who provides attention, affection and care: her captor. Precocious and intelligent, but still very much a teenager, Ginny struggles to adapt to her existence, initially fighting and then coming to terms with her captivity.
Will she be rescued? Will she escape? Will she get out alive—or get out at all? Part psychological thriller, part coming-of-age novel, filled with mystery, romance and unexpected turns, Nine Minutes takes readers into the world of one motorcycle gang and inside the heart of a young girl, whose abduction brought about its fall.
♥ My Thoughts ♥
5 stars
Incredibly good!
I enjoyed everything:the writing, the story and the characters.
I read in other reviews some comparison with Undeniable by Madeline Sheehan. Yes, it’s dark but even with the murders, drugs and rape, I did not get the same raw and unfiltered feelings. It’s more brutal and graphic than Joanna Wylde indeed but if you really want to compare maybe try Susan Fanetti?
Anyway, it has it’s own brilliance and uniqueness.
The plot is quite simple: at 15, Ginny is abducted from a convenience store and offered to Grizz, leader of an outlawed MC. She’ll stay many years with him and will come to love him, even with all the violence and the murders he commited. Ginny’s abduction is not as random as it seems and secrets will be revealed throughout the book.
From the very beginning, we learn what will be Grizz fate but we’ll still get a huge surprise.
Even if his fate is the logical and moral conclusion to Grizz violent life, it still remains hard to read. When you embark on a journey with the characters, you feel empathy and even sympathy and suffer with them. Try stockholm syndrom all you want but Ginny (Kit)’s feelings for Grizz were genuine and it was still a tragedy.
As she is torn between her love for Grizz and her moral compass, she chooses to not see many unspeakable things. It’s her way to remain sane, being wrapped up in a bubble of denial. She is aware on a certain level of what Grizz does or must do but her love is too strong and she’ll remain loyal to a fault, trying not to delve too deep in his business. Kit will never loose the hope of saving Grizz and make him stop his crimes.
Daughter of a hippie mother, she’s never been beaten or abused but never got the love and care a child should get. She was the adult of the house, took care of her parent’s finances and cooking. Always a straight A student, attending Sunday Mass, she was the responsible one. As Grizz showers Ginny with love and attention she realises her mother never really did love her. With Grizz, she is needed and loved.
Grizz is a strong character: he does not relish in violence and murder but does not hesitate to punish and kill if people become a threat. He never feels regret for what he does. The only time in the book he went to some unbelievable torture was because of what happened to Ginny. He’ll do anything for her, to bring her happiness, except release her. Brutal, outlaw, drug dealer but also overprotective and loving, Grizz is a complex man.
The other characters were really interesting, some had more substance than others and each played a part in the story. I must say I cried buckets for Moe.
What I loved above anything else? When you think you have it all figured out, the author proves you wrong. I love when an author surprises me right till the end.
This is another story where the real mastermind is hidden. The last pages made me despise someone I liked before and I’m really curious about the second book. All came so fast in the end, I never saw it coming and I’m now left with many questions with no answers.
