Review: Pinned by Charles W. Massie

Summary
Mark Casey, a native New York-er and a gentleman, wants to get out of his home state and live in another part of the world. Over the internet, he meets and is attracted to a small town Kentucky woman named Roxie. This woman seems to be the girl of his dreams - sensual, ambitious, funny and beautiful. After a series of email and phone conversations, Roxie invites Mark to visit her in Kentucky. The Meeting is magic. They fall head over heels for each other and decide to live together. 

But like the flip of a switch, there are immediate problems as soon as he gets in his new abode. He and Roxie fight, where they never did before. She constantly tells him lies. There seems to be a black cloud around Roxie, where someone else always gets hurt. And their once raging sexual relationship has turned sour, causing them to sleep apart. What could have caused this abyss? 

This is a true story of flagrant injustice in a small country town. It is a page whipping account of sex, drugs, manipulation, false arrest, corrupt public officials and good ‘ol boys who take rather than give. See what it is like to be trapped in the nest of a Black Widow. Read the story and be Pinned.

Review
One thing for sure after reading this book, I'm glad that I never met anyone online. This is one of those books that becomes the poster child for how meeting someone online could be your worst nightmare. Ok, let me clarify for those who have met people online and have had successful experiences than great but this is absolutely the extreme case scenario.

This story as it was told was based on a true story but seems like it was something straight from a Lifetime Movie. From the beginning, I thought he had a great start to get the reader initially engaged but then it lost that initial spark of anticipating what was going to unfold. Nothing from a quality point of view, just details that didn't seem so relevant which made it a little disengaging at times. About midway through the book I thought it picked up momentum and from there, the story just took off and became very engaging that you didn't want to put it book down. 

I have to say that I struggled a bit with connecting as a reader to certain parts of the book. As I appreciate the disclaimer at the beginning of the book, for myself, (and I only speak for myself) wasn't prepared for the explicit mature encounters in the book.  I understand from the relationship aspect of the book between the two main characters and it would only be human nature for it to be written but much of what was written could've been toned down or written in a different way that might not have had such a strong impact.

Overall, the actual story I thought was definitely interesting. What I thought was very creative and nice for the reader was that the book was divided into two parts and the chapters were labeled in a way where I thought it guided the reader through the story. The characters I thought were clearly defined and as a reader you can connect and follow along without hesitation on where the story is going.

Here is a little bit about a couple of the people that are the center of the book:

Mark is the person from which the perspective of the story is told. He is one of those people that for his age, you'd think he'd have better judgment. He's at a point in his life where he is trying to become financially stable, lives with a friend trying to get his life together. He decides to put up an ad on Craigs list and comes across a woman who seems perfect. He decided to take a chance on her and that decision took him down one drama filled road that led to heartache and injustice.

Roxie is the woman Mark met from the internet. She is every man's worst nightmare. She is the kind of woman that if you were searching for a date, would be someone that would catch your eye but in reality is probably a relative of the characters from Fatal Attraction and Misery. Her black widow web lured Mark in tight on a road of deception and heartache.

One thing that disappointed me was the ending of the book. As a reader, the most frustrating thing especially when you have been engaged anticipating closure to a book to be left so abruptly at a crucial part. The author does explain why and as a result will be wrapped up in another book later that year which as a bonus left for what to look for later. It would've been nice to solve that part of the story first and then move onto the next chapter of the saga, it would've been more fulfilling to anticipate. 

Overall, I think the story is a fascinating one considering some of the objections that I have had towards the book. It's definitely a personal tragedy of the injustice system towards someone whose rights from what was read doesn't seem to have been taken in consideration. This along with the interesting tangled web of love, deception, bad decisions and injustice gave you a drama filled story that no matter how creative you are never could've made this up.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Release: 3/13/13
Pages: 386