Painted Dresses

by: Patricia Hickman

Published by: Waterbrook Press (July 15 release)

Reviewed by Carrie Padgett

It’s probably my own fault that I’m disappointed in Painted Dresses.

The acknowledgements mention an editor I highly respect and another author I enjoy. The press material said, “In the rich tradition of powerful Southern writing…” and I was hooked. Anticipation at reading something akin to Anne Rivers Siddons or Margaret Maron tickled my page-turning fingers.

Chapter One lived up to my hopes. I was ready to love Gaylen Boatwright and her quirky sister Delia as much as I loved Siddons’s Shep Bondurant and his cousin Lucy Venable. But once the scene was decorated and the characters set on their journey, Hickman lost her way–and me.

First person stories are tricky and Hickman doesn’t pull it off. She falls into the easy traps of too much telling, and not enough detail to pull the reader in. By the end of the novel, the characters are conversing with no subtexting, description, or nuances to help the reader fill in the emotion.

The characters themselves aren’t sure who they are. Gaylen and her husband Braden are estranged–but I didn’t care if they mended the relationship. Gaylen shared a flashback to Braden’s rudeness when she was a newlywed learning to cook, and I disliked Braden and understood Gaylen’s ambivalence. Later though, I learned Gaylen brought much of their problems on herself. Of course life is like that, with no one clearly to blame. But I never felt sure who was supposed to be growing up and changing and getting their life together, Gaylen or Braden.

Delia ranged from quirky and charming to delusional and violent, a threat to herself and others.

The sisters began a quest to learn why their half-brother was evicted from the family when they were children. Along the way, they deliver artwork by an aunt whose creations started as dresses belonging to family and friends. I loved visualizing the art. The painted over fabric is a lovely metaphor for the secrets Gaylen and Delia tried to uncover.

Painted Dresses is a near miss. But as I said, it’s probably my own fault for expecting too much.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer’s comments.

Author’s Web site: http://www.PatriciaHickman.com