Rating: 3 stars

Laura Kasischke (In A Perfect World) weaves a mysterious and thrilling tale of love, loathing, intrigue and death.

Craig Clements-Rabbitt gave up the draw of Dartmouth to embrace the prestige of Godwin Honors Hall, located in the heart of one of the countries biggest public universities.

Craig comes from a wealthy—albeit dysfunctional—family, while his roommate Perry is the epitome of small town and family values. Though miles separate Craig and Perry in personality and personal morals, one thing unites them: sorority girl, Nicole Warner.

Despite being an unlikely couple, the often crass Craig, became butter in the hands of the virginal, sun-sweet Nicole and he soon fell deeply in love. With responsibilities to the sorority already a point of contention, Nicole’s sorority sisters considered Craig a problem and an outsider.

Craig’s issues with Nicole’s sorority only get worse when a car accident—with Craig at the wheel—claims the life of Nicole. Shelly Lockes, a music teacher at the university not only witnesses the single car incident, but is first on the scene. Despite multiple news accounts claiming Nicole was found dead in a pool of blood, Shelly’s protestations that not only was there no blood, but that Nicole wasn’t dead, fell on deaf ears.

A year later, Nicole’s sorority continues to make life a living hell for the confused and heartbroken Craig. However, Craig isn’t the only one who is confused; Perry and a few others are worried about their mental stability as they swear they’ve recently seen Nicole in photographs and on campus. Perry turns to humanities professor, Mira Polson, who is teaching a class on death, in the hopes that she can help answer all of his difficult questions.

The life and questionable death of Nicole Warner will pull Craig, Perry, Mira and Shelly into a dark, mystery and the quest for the truth will change their lives forever.

Told in present day, punctuated by interstitial flashbacks and memories, The Raising has three different stories that eventually converge, centering on the accident; which then becomes central in each participant’s life.

The first few chapters were a bit slow to catch on, but as things progressed, the plot gained traction. It wasn’t long before everything melded perfectly together and took on a sense of urgency to find answers to a seemingly-endless list of questions.

However, the answers aren’t so forthcoming. Midway through the book, the suspense peaks and is ripe for the reveal; unfortunately, things are dragged out for another 150 pages. By the time the story is summed up, patience has long expired and instead of a going out in a blaze of glory, The Raising seems to simply dissipate in a puff of smoke.
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Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Original edition (March 15, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-0062004789