Arson investigator Billy Nightingale, on a ride-a-long with his brother-in-law Sebastian Bly, a state trooper, is called to the "ugly" house in Sojourn. Two young children are dead as a result of a house fire.

It is soon apparent that another child had been in the house, but the two men are unable to locate that child. The dead children's mother, Edith Tuttle, while upset over her children's death, fails to mention the missing child. But the reader knows that Edith didn't even bother naming the one-year-old missing girl following her birth. She is known only as "Baby Tuttle" and is an unusual child-one who never smiles or cries; only stares with her dark, penetrating eyes.

Nightingale is not only concerned about the missing child; he believes the fire is suspicious. He begins searching for answers and soon discovers a quiet but terrified child under the ugly house where she crawled to save herself. What Nightingale and Bly discover means Baby Tuttle will need a permanent home as her mother will have her own semi-permanent home for many years to come.

Billy's sister, Annie and husband Sebastian adopt the child (Merry) and the years pass without incident. When Merry, at age eleven, becomes interested in her history, Billy and the Bly's concoct a fantasy history to protect Merry from her horrific past. But a letter Merry mails inadvertently sets into motion a series of events that will threaten her and her family years later when Merry is a fledgling ballerina.

Armchair Interviews says: Tabula Rasa, by Shelly Reuben is simply terrific! The characters are well drawn, complex and unique. The plot is both horrifying and scrumptious with fascinating information about arson, adoption, dancing and the consequences of an obsessive quest and the lies told to protect a loved one. It is scintillating and an absolute must read!
My comment:
There is a sideline story about what an adoptive child and the parents must endure as children find out about their "roots". I read it in 2 sittings. Offering up as a bookring since it was a quick and interesting read.

♥ US BOOKRING ♥

Forum linkBook order:
1. Busybooklover--->
2. TheBowieFollies---->
3. Lsgbamel--->
4. Lpree--->
5. piggydiva

6. ----->Busybooklover

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to first in line today..... ♥ Happy Valentines Day! ♥ enjoy!

This arrived safe as..
I am intrigued and have already started this, I love the Lockian title! Will be back very soon to deconstruct...cheers busybooklover for including me :)

I really fancied this one, Miss Reuben, being an authority of arsen investigation, was quite adroit in deconstructing every element of such a deplorable act. I admire her moxie. I was also tickled as the neighbourhood I now live in NYC was mentioned quite a few times. The climax will haunt you. This isnt the usual fare of what I prefer reading, but Shelley Reuben is such a prescient writer she knows what her readers want precognitively
will be sent out to the lsgbamel this coming week
enjou!

sent this morning 16.03.06 to lsgbamel what a name I feel like I am talking in tongues :P or maybe some hindi esperanto ...enjoy this story its wicked!

cheers

I'm only 60 pages into this one and I'm hooked! I got it in the mail last Thursday and forgot to "catch" it so I figured I'd let you know it arrived safely. Thanks!
Update 3/31/06 - I finished a couple of days ago. This was a quick read and there were enough surprises to keep you guessing, although I knew what good ol' mom was going to do (both of them) well before they did it. I was surprised because my preconception was that Book One was going to be the story arc for the whole novel - crime and punishment and that would be it. The first part seemed so rushed to me because of that. The characters are broadly drawn and everyone has an easy life in almost every way, which is an annoying habit that makes most novels possible - otherwise there would be a hundred novels a year about living in the 'burbs and debating the merits of the ride share program. These folks, however, were a little too perfect and things were a little too easy for them to be believable. It would be a great beach read, though! Lots of drama and shock value.

RELEASE NOTES:

Off it goes to Omaha! Enjoy - this is a good one.

This arrived in today's mail. I have a couple other rings ahead of this, but will read it as soon as I can. It sounds like an interesting story, so I'm looking forward to reading it!

I finished this a few days ago. I enjoyed reading the story - it certainly kept me interested. But as with another book I read recently, I kept thinking that what I thought would be the main plot of the story (her birth mother's return) ended up being the wrap-up. I felt like most of the book was just setting the stage for the end. That doesn't really sound right when I write it down, but I hope it makes sense to someone.

Anyway, I'll get it mailed out this weekend, I hope. Thanks for sharing it!

Received the book today! I'll report my thoughts after I finish it so the next person on the ring can experience it!

A fantastic novel that is well written with interesting characters (though the adopted mom and dad are just a tad bit sacchrine for my taste while the adopted girl seems too good to be true). It is a quick read. I liked Reuben's explanations of fire investigation, then I read the back flap and found out she was herself a fire investigator (this would account for the detailed fire investigation scenes!)

No one else is listed on the bookring, so I may be sending this back to busybooklover. Thanks for sponsoring the ring!

Sending back to BusyBookLover, Monday, October 9!

Bookring arrived safely home... Thanks SO much for the COOLEST (and my FIRST EVER ) bOOkcrossing postcard!! I LOVED it!!! (I'll scan and post so all can see. =) I wanted to share this with a bookcrossing friend whose husband is a firefighter... see what she thinks... ♥ BBL ♥

Helps if you SIGN IN FIRST. D'oh!!! That was me. =) Card is squished in to fit BUT it says" YES, I LOVED IRELAND BUT I'M REALLY ENJOYING THE SUN AND SAND HERE IN THE CANARY ISLANDS , TOO. WHERE NEXT WEEK?? WHO KNOWS... EVERY DAY IS AN ADVENTURE!" Thanks piggydiva!!! ♥ BBL ♥

RELEASE NOTES:

Going to vraciousrdr since it's tour is over....

RELEASE NOTES:

Going to vraciousrdr since it's tour is over....

looking forward to reading :)

pretty decent mystery/thriller - from the cover you anticipate more thriller but it was more cerebral. Nice work and well done, will have to look for more by Shelly Ruben.

RELEASE NOTES:

not cl but there was room in the box