Before you know Kindness - Chris Bohjalian

Joanne's pick for book club, and she didn't even know the plot was about a vegan! I'm not sure I believe that phony baloney ;)

This was my first Bohjalian novel, but it is pretty clear that he enjoys telling a story, researching it and delivering a neat little story filled with moral dilemma (at least for the average reader). The plot line is fairly simple: what happens to a seemingly tight family once their patriarch - a vegan activist - is shot by his dope smoking daughter who believed him to be a deer.

Bohjalian writes with precision and warmth. His characters are well developed, albeit a bit unidimensional. The plot line is anything but tedious and leaves me asking questions I would not otherwise have pondered. However, it is a bit too contrived for my liking and I have to admit I slogged through it - maybe I just wasn't in the mood for venison!