Title: Rubbing Stones
Author: Nancy Burkey
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781534989320
Pages: 313
Genre: Fiction/ Suspense/Thriller
Reviewed by: Anita Lock
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Jane O’Neill is a professor in a San Francisco clinic. Fiercely keeping her nose to the grindstone to train others in the psychiatric profession, the seasoned doctor is not without her own set of personal problems. Besides a divorce, Jane is worried about her fifteen-year-old son Michael, who seems to always find himself mixed in with trouble.
During a training session, Jane’s class is interrupted when she receives a message that Michael and his younger brother Jake were in a car accident. Michael is not only at fault for unsupervised driving and stealing the family car, but also for possession of alcohol. Jane, who is certain that a night in juvenile detention will not be enough impetus to get Michael’s life turned around, proposes a family trip to Botswana. Although the trip will include a rafting excursion, the real purpose of the trip is for Michael to see what life is like helping out at a small village’s medical clinic.
Katura Masaku and her brother Japera have just learned that their older brother Tafadzwa has been arrested. Japera and his cousin Thabani leave Botswana and head to Zimbabwe to find Tafadzwa unaware that Katura is hiding in the back of the jeep.
Things get convoluted rather quickly, beginning at a border checkpoint with Katura’s unexpected presence. Tafadzwa’s situation is most bizarre since instead of getting trained as raft river guide on the Zambezi River, the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) accuse him for murdering one of their captains during a rally. The Zimbabwe craziness unfolds, unbeknownst to Jane and Rick (her new husband), and the boys as they land in Africa. Joined with another father and his son, the two families begin a weeklong rafting excursion, which is headed up by none other than Thabani. The trip is cut short when the two families are held hostage. Escape plans appear futile, especially when attempts leave several in the party dead.
Author Nancy Burkey takes her psychiatric skills to a different level in her debut book Rubbing Stones. Burkey states, “After practicing psychiatry for many years, reading and writing fiction became the perfect escape from spending much of my time inside the minds of very real people.” Inspired from the fantasies and nightmares of an adventurous family trip to Africa, Burkey’s narrative is much more than another entertaining thriller. Aside of the fact that Jane is forced to use her medical skills as a means of survival, Burkey’s main theme focuses on how horrific circumstances can force people to introspection, especially as they face unresolved conflict (fears) in their lives. Burkey’s portrayal of this theme is best recognized by having each character’s thought processes well defined as they engage in dialogue.
While concentrating on psychiatric issues, Burkey weaves in a bit of history as she sheds light on the tension that often accompanies highly corrupt political structures and the entrance of coups. In the case of Rubbing Stones, the backdrop of Burkey’s plot is heavily surrounded by the strain felt between the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) and Robert Mugabe’s ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union). Although she does not spend a great deal of time of the political tenor of the country, Burkey does a stellar job describing in general the mass confusion of political parties whose incessant clashes and indecisive motives evolve into a vicious cycle of inconsistent alliances. Recognizing that this mass confusion segues perfectly within a suspense novel, Burkey utilizes this concept to the max throughout her character dialogue scenes. Conversations are often replete with incomplete statements and lots of questions. As a result, readers are kept on their toes, spending much of their time drawing clues from inferences.
Burkey balances her well-written storyline by combining the above mentioned literary tools while filling alternating character scenes with plenty of twists and turns. A great read with Silver Screen potential, Rubbing Stones is earmarked to become a favorite!
