Publisher: William Morrow
Published: May 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0062749925
Genre: Women’s
Fiction, Suspense
Format: Print
Obtained via: Publisher
Reviewed by
name and email address: Gina myreviewbooks@aol.com
FIVE HEARTS
Relatively recent Stanford grad Cheyenne Florian has landed what
for many would be a dream job. She didn’t
set out to work as a journalist, but when Edwin Gordon, owner of INN television
offers her a job as an on air journalist she hesitates, weighing being able to
care for her father in Tulip, Montana and a long distance relationship with her
long time boyfriend, Chase. But Edwin is
persuasive and she agrees to sign on the line and commit herself to three years
at INN. It is Edwin’s plan to use some
certain notable events in Cheyenne’s past to launch her at the station. Well, perhaps notable isn’t quite the
word. Perhaps notorious is a more apt
reference. As Cheyenne embarks on her
new career several things happen. A few
of them make her question just who is making her decisions for her…is it her life
or is she a pawn of someone else?
First Edwin hires a tutor, Albie for her. Albie quickly warns her that not everyone is
her friend. Nor are they her enemy. He won’t say who is which; only that she
should watch her back. Before she can
process Albie in her life Edwin springs Reese, an intern on her as an
assistant.
On the heels of Albie’s arrival pages of a diary begin to
arrive. The diary appears to be from
Elyse Rohrbach…an icon among women broadcast journalists. As more pages arrive Cheyenne begins to
question if the pages are coming from friend or foe. Are they really from Elyse’s diary? Or are they someone’s increasingly sick job
intended to disturb her and rake up her past?
Edwin adds to her confusion and questions about her decision when he
launches an investigative series about a company close to someone in Cheyenne’s
life. It isn’t long before Cheyenne
begins to question is it her life? Or is
someone engineering a life for her? If
someone is…who is it and why are they doing it?
Holly Brown’s HOW FAR SHE’S COME is an interesting and totally
absorbing cross section of women’s fiction and psychological suspense. Cheyenne’s story grabbed me from page one and
I quickly found myself unable to put the book down. I had to know who was sending the diary, who
was setting her up…if she was being set up…and how things would end.
On the women’s fiction side, Cheyenne’s development through the
book is really well done. She starts off
as a fairly sheltered, bordering on naïve woman who wants to do the right
thing. Protective of her father because
of his health at the same time she depends on his counsel. She loves her boyfriend, but begins to see
the cracks in their relationship. As his
own secrets and need to outshine her no matter what emerge Brown depicts a
character at a cross roads of staying in a relationship because of what they
had or moving on to fulfil her own life.
At the same time Cheyenne questions whether being with Chase could
ultimately be what fulfils her.
This is Cheyenne’s story, but Brown does not short change the
other characters not matter how large a part they play in her story. Each has complexities that draw you further
into the story.
While the characters speak to issues involved in women’s
fiction, it is the setting of a start up news network sets the stage for the
thriller/suspense aspects of the story.
Taking Cheyenne out of her comfort zone in Palo Alto with her boyfriend
and essentially cutting her off from seeing her father add to the suspense of
the story. Is someone isolating
her? Or is it just the nature of the
business?
Brown concludes Cheyenne’s story. She gives it a fitting end. At the same time, as I read the last pages,
when the sender of the diary is revealed, there is the sense of another story
to be told. This isn’t a cheesy cliff-hanger. Rather it is a possibility of more to
come.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of
this book.
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