Noa P. Singleton is on death row, waiting to be executed for the murder of a young woman and her unborn child. After spending ten years in prison awaiting her punishment, Noa is visited by Oliver Stansted, an attorney from a nonprofit that represents death row inmates, and the woman who hired him -- Marlene Dixon, the mother of the woman Noa is in prison for murdering. Marlene has changed her tune on the death penalty; she no longer supports it as a punishment and she would like to commute Noa's sentence to life in prison. In exchange, however, she wants Noa to reveal her motives for murdering her daughter. Noa has been completely tight-lipped about her motives, never saying a word in her own defense throughout her trial or afterwards. Will she share them now?
This book has been getting rave review after rave review, but for me it just didn't work. Maybe it's because I'm not a big reader of mysteries or crime procedurals. It felt like I was watching a really long episode of Law and Order. Yes, there were some twists and turns and surprises, but I found the characters so unsympathetic that I hardly cared. I do think that, given the buzz surrounding it, this book will find a big audience, particularly among fans of crime-centered fiction who like a slow, drawn-out reveal.
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton will be available in June.
P.J. O'Rourke advises "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
Let Galesburg Public Library staff and friends guide you in finding those books.
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