Review: Stash by David Klein
Reviewed by Jennifer J.
The town of Morrissey looks pleasant and peaceful, but if one takes a closer look, shocking secrets are revealed. The local authorities are called in on more and more drug issues, even ones that involve middle school children.
Gwen Raine, mother of two young children, makes a poor decision that draws her deep into an effort to stop the trafficking of drugs in her hometown. Occasionally Gwen and her friends like to smoke a little marijuana to wind down at the end of the day. It doesn’t occur frequently enough that Gwen has a regular dealer, so she turns to her ex-lover Jude to sell her a small bag of weed with the promise of not revealing her source. Before she heads home, Gwen decides to smoke a joint. On the way to pick up her children, an elderly driver collides head-on with Gwen and the police officers on the scene discover her stash.
Although the accident is not Gwen’s fault, the police are on a mission to cleanse the city. To make matters worse for Gwen, the other driver in the accident dies and the daughter is threatening to sue. Eager to keep her name out of the media, Gwen bargains to reveal her supplier. Meanwhile, Jude is seeking to retire from dealing drugs, but his current customer has him in over his head.
[amazonify]0307716813[/amazonify]Stash by David Klein is an intimate portrayal of the lives of a drug dealer and an occasional user. I felt that the author remained neutral, and presented a very realistic look at what might happen to someone who gets caught up in the wrong situations at the wrong time. I really liked that Klein represented both illegal and legal drugs, showing that what the FDA deems fit for public use can also have harmful side effects just like street drugs.
Klein is exceptional at showing both the positive and negative qualities of people. Gwen was a really frustrating character; in the end, I didn’t feel like she learned anything from the ordeal she had just been through, and it seemed she was only remorseful that she had been caught. I did, however, accept that she was truly sorry for playing a part in a man’s death. Most people after experiencing just a terrifying mess would swear off their harmful behavior, but Gwen’s ultimate decision remained ambiguous. I went back and forth on what I thought about Jude. At times I truly loathed him, and at others I respected him as both a father and a successful restaurant owner.
Stash was a well-written novel, and showed that even the most innocent of poor decisions can have a devastating effect on our lives and the people we love.
Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.
Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Broadway. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Literature & Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
Gwen is flawed, like the rest of us are for one reason or another, in that her addiction has a stronghold on her and interferes with her ability to make better choices. You did a wonderful job reviewing this book; a tad depressing for me.
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Sounds like a very relevant topic considering the news reports lately … I’m from a small town, and there’s still huge busts made every couple months. Amazing, in a slightly scary/shocking way. Good that the author keeps a balanced viewpoint – it’s so easy to take a topic like this and get gung-ho enthusiastic about it, one way or another. In life, that can be good (most of the time
), but in fiction? Balance is good. Very good. And the fact there are consequences actually apparent in the story. Sounds like an interesting-ish read.
I read this as an ARC from Goodreads and really enjoyed it! I couldn’t stand Gwen and how selfish she was, though (in my opinion). I didn’t get the feeling that she was sorry for what she did, only that she was sorry it caused consequences that hurt, and even killed, other people. She didn’t seem to believe any of the consequences where really from her own actions, but just out of her control things that happened…sort of a “poor me, so many people could do the same thing and be fine”. I didn’t particularly like Jude as a person either, but he did have a little more of a dynamic personality that caused you to hate him one minute and sympathize with him the next. It is wonderfully written and I can’t wait to see what else the author comes up with!
Hm, I would have serious problems with Gwen. Not sure I could empathize enough with her character to get drawn into Stash.
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This book sounds interesting and I agree with you that some of our decisions can have really far reaching consequences. Thanks for your review.