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Oh, What an Alluring Web She Weaves
Reviewed by David Marshall James
Posted on Sun, Jun. 19, 2005

SPIDER BLUE by Carla Damron
Bella Rosa Books, 294 pages, $25.95US

SPIDER BLUE begins with a murder spun from a web of drug dealing and street-gang warfare.

Social worker Caleb Knowles shows up at the scene of a suburban housewife's brutal stabbing. His girlfriend is a close friend of the victim's neighbor. Then, more violence jolts fictitious Westville, S.C.--seemingly random shootings at the textile mill.

The clinic where Caleb is on staff is swamped, owing to the in-flux of mill employees seeking counseling over the workplace deaths.

Because the local police department relies on the clinic to evaluate suspects, Caleb also must interview the mill triggerman. Caleb's professional challenges are compounded again when he is assigned the murdered housewife's 4-year-old daughter.

Damron, a Columbia clinical social worker, develops realistic characters whose emotional entanglements and depths of despair are rendered all the more penetrating by her "just plain folks" portrayals.

Her facility with male characters is especially notable. The re-relationship between Caleb and his deaf older brother, Sam--at the center of her first mystery, KEEPING SILENT--contributes a fine counterpoint to the darker proceedings.

In addition, Caleb's occupation allows for an array of compelling secondary characters: his two colleagues, a hospital physician, a compassionate female detective and the clinic's patients, including a striking young woman with a most intriguing past.

Caleb may be an "ordinary Joe" of a protagonist, but Damron's carefully constructed plot and thoughtfulness about social ills contribute to a noteworthy work.

Should her mystery series command the attention it de-serves, she has the talent to play on a much broader stage.

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"SPIDER BLUE is an intricate mystery and an emotional read. Emma will steal your heart."

SPIDER BLUE by Carla Damron
The Second Caleb and Sam Mystery

Social Worker Caleb Knowles counsels others, prompting them to explore their emotions so they can move on. But when it comes to his own life, Caleb remains silent. Caleb is assigned an employee who killed two men and wounded a woman on the job and a 4 year-old who witnessed her mother's murder in their front yard. Murphy and Emma's therapy sessions seem to be Caleb's escape. As Caleb tries to heal those caught up in the latest Westville violence, Detective Claudia Briscoe works to solve the crimes. Unfortunately Caleb gets caught up in some amateur sleuthing, which places both him and his deaf, older brother Sam on the darker side of Westville (One scene is absolutely heart-stopping).

Spider Blue is Caleb and Sam's second mystery. Sam's part is smaller than in the debut Keeping Silent, but his role continues to be strong in character. Damron first takes the time to set up her mystery then carefully spins it in many directions. The scenes with Emma and Caleb are gripping, yet tender. Each scene builds the anticipation of whodunit. The speaking and signing descriptions blend perfectly in the scenes with Caleb and Sam, and a glimpse into their past reveals why they are always concerned for others. One of my favorite scenes is when they put a real estate agent at ease after she neglects to notice Sam's deafness. Good deaf humor there...

Spider Blue is an intricate mystery and an emotional read. Emma will steal your heart. If you haven't met the brothers duo, I recommend you start with the first in series, Keeping Silent. In that one, Sam will steal your heart.

Personal note: Sam's deaf personality - his humor, independence, actions and reactions are so true, it's haunting.

—Brenda Weeaks, Myshelf.com review

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