Twisted Ladder [NOOK Book]

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Overview


Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc has spent her whole career trying to determine the cause of her father's schizophrenia. She always felt that she could unravel its origins and cure the man who left her and her brother, Marc, to practically raise themselves on the Louisiana Bayou. But when Marc takes his own life on a fishing boat in the middle of Bayou Black, Madeleine embarks on a journey into her family history---to a time when the antebellum era was crumbling, and the line between servant and master was starting to fade. And the more she pries the more she reveals her family’s dark past, rife with conjured demons and river magic gone awry. Madeleine’s only hope to save herself is to ...
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Overview


Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc has spent her whole career trying to determine the cause of her father's schizophrenia. She always felt that she could unravel its origins and cure the man who left her and her brother, Marc, to practically raise themselves on the Louisiana Bayou. But when Marc takes his own life on a fishing boat in the middle of Bayou Black, Madeleine embarks on a journey into her family history---to a time when the antebellum era was crumbling, and the line between servant and master was starting to fade. And the more she pries the more she reveals her family’s dark past, rife with conjured demons and river magic gone awry. Madeleine’s only hope to save herself is to face the ghosts of the past, the dangers of the present, and the twisted ladder that links them all together.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Hawk's promising debut, a Southern gothic thriller, introduces Dr. Madeleine LeBlanc, a staff psychologist at New Orleans's Tulane University with a special interest in cognitive schizophrenia. Maddy's father, “Daddy Blank,” suffers from the disease, as does her brother, Marc, whose suicide leads Maddy, who fears she may also be schizophrenic after psychic visits from a “devil-child,” to probe her family's past. Tulane neurologist Ethan Manderleigh provides support as terrible secrets surface about the family sugarcane plantation. Maddy's discovery that a creepy childhood friend is a murderer complicates her quest. Flashbacks to Prohibition-era New Orleans chart the early life of Maddy's clairvoyant, mean-spirited 114-year-old great-grandmother, Chloe, who's rather too spry for her age, despite her magical gifts. Voodoo and scientific research into neuroplasticity make an intriguing, if not always easy, mix. (Sept.)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781429952071
  • Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
  • Publication date: 9/1/2009
  • Sold by: ST MARTINS / MPS
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 544
  • Sales rank: 177,358
  • File size: 1 MB
  • Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

Meet the Author

Rhodi Hawk
RHODI HAWK began her career as a transcription linguist in US Army intelligence and later worked as a technical writer during the Internet boom. In 2007, she won the International Thriller Writer's Scholarship for A Twisted Ladder, which is her first novel. She lives in the New York City area.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4
( 16 )

Rating Distribution

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  • Posted November 17, 2009

    cool book.

    i enjoyed reading this book. i'm pretty big on old south fiction and this book was a good read for me.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 26, 2009

    Introduction to Mystery

    This book is great for someone who doesn't read a lot of mystery or thrilling books. It has a little bit of everything: family mystery, romance, crazy father... who could deny this. I highly suggest this book especially if you are interested in vodoo magic and mysterious family and social happenings.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 4, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Great Read

    I picked the book up at my local B&N Store due to the gothic, rundown mansion on the cover. I flipped it over and read the summary, a suspense novel based in New Orleans, sounded good to me. The book sat on my shelf for about 3-4 weeks before I had a chance to pick it up and once I did everything else took second place. The plot is rich in suspense and the characters are well developed, it has the making for a great page turner. Everytime I had to set the book down I cursed under my breath that I couldn't continue to read as I was mesmerized by the story and characters. I especially liked the way that the story went from present events to past events so that the reader was able to fully understand the leading and supporting character's history. This is a great first novel by Rhodi Hawk and I am hoping that the ending has left the story line open for sequels. Definitely receives my top rating, I didn't even mind jury duty because I had a great read in my purse to keep me occupied between selection panels.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 15, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    A terrific refreshing character driven thriller.

    Tulane University psychologist Dr. Madeleine LeBlanc has a personal interest in cognitive schizophrenia as her father "Daddy Blank" and her brother Marc suffered from the illness. Maddy has spent her medical career seeking the cause of the crippling disease and its prevention. Since her brother's suicide while fishing on Bayou Black, she fears the disease will prove genetic.

    Maddy is also afraid she might be schizophrenic or a schizoid psychotic when a "devil-child" visits her psychically. With help of Tulane neurologist Ethan Manderleigh, Maddy investigates her heritage especially on the family sugarcane plantation. However, instead of a better understanding of herself and her kin dating back to her nasty voodoo queen great-grandmother, she believes a childhood friend is a serial killer though she wonders if her conclusion is caused by her mental state rather than facts.

    The fun in this exciting urban psychological suspense fantasy is the blending of voodoo with modern mental health research. The story line is refreshing due to those ties that connect in the soul of Maddy. She fears she will be a chip off the old block of her schizophrenic father or her nasty century plus old voodoo queen great-grandmother; either side is a genetic loser in Maddy's mind as each lead to madness. With her only hope for survival rests in understanding her complete heritage, Maddy flashbacks to Prohibition New Orleans to comprehend Chloe's salad days. Fans will enjoy the aptly titled A TWISTED LADDER as the heroine ponders nurturing vs. naturing with her DNA and her childhood tainted in this terrific refreshing character driven thriller.

    Harriet Klausner

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 6, 2012

    Excellent Historical Fiction

    Looking forward to more from this author, she's quite talented and left room for a sequel.

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  • Posted July 3, 2011

    Raven

    Awesome read from start to finish!!!

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  • Posted April 19, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    A little too offbeat

    When I picked this book up, I thought it was going to be about a woman trying to understand her family's history and struggle with schizophrenia. I was hoping for something dark and intellectual. I wanted to read about the devastation caused by a serious psychiatric disorder. A Twisted Ladder could not have been further from what I was looking. The story was dark and even interesting in parts. It was a very quick read, but fairly poorly written. The worst part was the way schizophrenia was dealt with. This book was not about an actual mental illness. It shot off into a make believe, supernatural world that was completely unbelievable. And because the author seemed to try and mix so many genres, it didn't even make for a good sci fi novel.

    0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 30, 2010

    Great Book!

    I really enjoyed this book. It was choosen as a book for my book club and normally this is not the type of book I read, but I decided to read it and was happy I did.

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  • Posted December 11, 2009

    I read A Twisted Ladder

    I thought it was kind of boring overall. i went into it thinking it was going to be a realistic book but it wasnt. it was about a lady whose dad had schizophrenia and she is trying to find out about what caused it. in lookin at his histoy and researching him she found out about brothers she has and property she never knew he had. also she got accused of murder in the process. over all i thought it was going to be a real life story but it wasnt.therefore i didnt like it.maybe i wouldhave enjoyed it more if i was expecting a fiction book.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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