Caroline Frost's impressive debut novel, Shadows of Pecan Hollow, provides a comprehensive look at a woman who...is taken in by a charming criminal until she finds the courage to break away ... Although the plot momentarily stalls in the novel's midsection, Frost's skill at sculpting a character both sympathetic and prickly shines in Shadows of Pecan Hollow.
Heart-rending ... Shadows of Pecan Hollow will be heartbreaking for readers wiser and more experienced than young Kit, as they’ll be able to see Manny’s manipulation and violence for what it really is: abuse ... Impressive.
Captivating if messy ... The author does a bang-up job fleshing out Kit’s young life, creating the perfect storm of circumstances...for her to trust a stranger who treats her with a kindness she’s never known. Once Manny comes back, however, the story goes a bit off the rails ... Much melodrama ensues, including some gratuitous violence. Nevertheless, Frost offers plenty of punchy lines...It’s uneven, but there’s promise here.
Frost’s prose is engaging and sharp-edged, carefully attuned to her characters in a way that feels vividly real. Kit’s difficulties with Charlie...are realistically depicted with empathy for both of them, while Manny’s capacity for manipulation and cruelty is chillingly depicted from the first time he appears on the page ... A heart-rending and complex examination of one woman’s flawed attempts to overcome her past.
