Alan DrewRecensioni

Very Late to the Party
Firstly I would like to send my deepest apologies to everyone who was involved in my being selected to read this book. Also thank them for selecting me to read this arc. My awful delay has nothing to do with the author and his craft. It all has to do with life getting away from me which is no one's issue but mine. In fact The Recruit by Alan Drew is a fantastic crime story featuring well-developed characters and multiple crimes weaved together in a shocking, but not the far-fetched way. Based in a Southern California town in the 80s, the book addresses themes that exist today. Which makes it very relatable to the reader The story of outsiders coming into a new community and the insiders threatened by their differences and the change is one familiar to all.

Drew brings you into the minds of all the characters telling the story from the perspectives of the medical examiner, the detective and police looking into unsolved cases, the Vietnamese immigrants new to America, and the young boys being led into white supremacy groups as he unveils and weaves together a wave of crime that unfortunately is too real. What I enjoyed most is the pacing. When I realized I had it on my kindle still and hadn’t started it I was able to read it in one sitting which is in great part to great writing. Again my sincerest apologies 4 starts all the way.

Written with two plot lines, each with Ben as a main protagonist showing how being abused as a child can lead to two different paths in life.
A great engaging read and will be looking for other titles written by this author.

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "An American boy and Kurdish find love in Istanbul during the 1999 Earthquake. But it's still early days for love across these boundaries and tragedy results. It was a bit predictable, but still informative and insightful re life in Istanbul, life for Kurds in Turkey, and the Christian / Islam misunderstandings of each other."

I bought this book for $3.00 at the grocery store and then forgot about for 2 years.
Big mistake.
Excellent book!
A serial killer is terrorizing a nice community in Southern California in the early 1980’s. And a second story of a pedophile praying on vulnerable kids.
The two storylines come together nicely.
The book is incredibly well told.
Definitely an author to look for.

Southern California, 1986. Ben Wade was a former LAPD detective but four years ago, in an attempt to save his failing marriage, he decided to move his family back to his hometown, the supposedly safe, suburb of Santa Elena. Although the move didn’t achieve this aim, he and his ex-wife now maintain a fairly close, amicable relationship as they try to provide their teenage daughter Emma with a sense of security. If he is honest with himself, after working in Los Angeles, Ben is finding his job in the suburbs rather boring – dealing with drunks, shoplifters and road-traffic accidents is hardly cutting-edge police work! However, in recent months there have been several killings, all with a similar M.O., in Los Angeles and other locations in the north of Orange County and although, as yet, there has been no official admission that these are the work of a serial killer, most cops are beginning to believe that they probably are.
When a woman is found murdered in a similar way in a suburb just a few miles from Santa Elena, Ben is called in to help with the investigation. Suddenly the threat to his own safe, secure community feels too close for comfort, a threat which becomes even more real when a similar killing soon takes place in his own town. From being a community where people felt safe in their habit of leaving their doors and windows unlocked, it becomes one where terror lurks. The police come under increasing pressure to find the killer, an almost ghost-like person, able to slip in and out of his victims’ homes without being seen. Their workload is increased following the apparent suicide of a teenager, an illegal immigrant, but also a star swimmer on the local high school team. Ben is deeply disturbed by this death and is not convinced that the boy committed suicide. Risking the ire of his boss, he refuses to sign-off on the case and continues to investigate. This is a decision which will prove to have a profound emotional effect on him as he is forced to confront painful memories.
Although this is a crime story, and the tension surrounding tracking down a serial killer permeates the story, its real strength lies in the author’s impressive character development and the convincing psychological underpinning which explores the backgrounds and motivations of the main characters. The gradual exposure of childhood traumas and long-held secrets is central to the developing story and demonstrates that, in one way or another, unresolved feelings can continue to define how people live their lives.
Both Ben and the killer are burdened by secrets from the past and each, albeit in very different ways, has developed dysfunctional behaviour patterns as a way of dealing with emotional pain. For Ben this shows mainly in his inability to make close, intimate relationships with the women in his life. Although he cares deeply for his ex-wife and daughter, he isn’t always able to either fully recognise, understand or meet their emotional needs. He also struggles with his developing relationship with Natasha, a forensic specialist with whom he works. Although I understood why he couldn’t allow himself to get too close to her, I still found myself wanting to shake him because she is such a lovely, caring character! Not only is she clearly attracted to Ben, but her respect and kindness for the dead victims demonstrated a very humane approach to her distressing and disturbing job. The key to the killer’s childhood traumas and his turning to violence as a way of trying to resolve them, lies in occasional chapters which describe, in chilling detail, his background and his gradual social and psychological disintegration. The examination, through these two main characters, of why one traumatised person can live a socially acceptable life whilst another becomes a psychopathic killer, was one of the factors which made this such a satisfying story to read.
Another thread in the story focused on the fact that even in apparently middle-class, affluent small communities there can be dark secrets, secrets which remain unexposed for a variety of reasons, often the result of a self-protective conspiracy of silence. I thought that the gradual exposure of this dark underbelly was very convincingly and sensitively portrayed, especially in the way that it demonstrated how people in authority can wield such power over their vulnerable victims.
Throughout the story I was drawn into the author’s evocative descriptions of the dramatic and beautiful countryside of Orange County. His descriptions of the trails through remote, mountainous scenery made me feel as though I too was struggling to track down a killer who was familiar with every twist and turn of the paths. He also captured, through Ben’s reflections about some of the unwelcome changes in his hometown, the ways in which unsympathetic development can destroy the very landscape to which people had been attracted in the first place.
If you are looking for an “edge of your seat” thriller, this story would probably be a bit disappointing. However, if you enjoy a character-driven, well-paced and totally absorbing read; if you enjoy beautifully written, creative prose, then this book should tick all the boxes for you. I find myself hoping that Alan Drew is going to write a sequel so that I can revisit the memorable characters he has created.

I really enjoyed this book! I liked how the author intertwined Ben's past with the "future". Not all secrets should be buried, if in fact others are being hurt because of it. I like that this was based a few decades ago when we didn't have 24/7 access and communication to each other. Thoroughly enjoyed and looking forward to more books by this author.

Detective Ben Wade and his then-wife, Rachel, returned to their hometown of Rancho Santa Elena for a peaceful, safe life for themselves and their daughter. After all, as a detective, Ben knows the darker side of life. But even the idyllic California community couldn't save his marriage with Rachel--his high school sweetheart--and now the two are divorced and jointly raising their teenage daughter, Emma. And, for the most part, Ben's career is pretty dull: nothing like his old LA one. That all changes when a serial killer starts haunting the area. They come around at night, slipping in doors and windows, and terrifying the residents of this planned community. At the same time, Ben is trying to figure out if a young Hispanic teen truly committed suicide. Are these two crimes interconnected? And how much destruction will this killer bring until found?

I'm a sucker for a good crime novel, so I was intrigued by the description of Alan Drew's book; I have never read anything by this author before. I'm not sure I realized the novel was actually set in the late 1980s; I tend to read more contemporary fiction, but I was pleasantly surprised by this mystery. Although mystery is somewhat of a misnomer. While there is a case to solve here--two really--this is far more a character-driven novel, with an intense focus on Ben, his personal life, and how his past life has made him into the detective and man he is now.

In many ways, this is a novel about the passage of time and the effects it has on a person. It is a novel about the effects of abuse, as well, and what it can do to someone. Can a child who suffers abuse come through unscathed? I wasn't expecting such a storyline when I started the novel, but it worked. It's quite well-done and while much of the book is often sad, it's well-written and the pages pass quickly.

The novel is told from three points of view: Ben; our serial killer; and Natasha Betencourt, the local assistant Medical Examiner. Of course, Natasha and Ben have a bit of a personal relationship (this is a novel, after all). And, sure, Ben often comes across as the cliched crime detective who doesn't always follow the rules. Because of this--and because of the California setting--I couldn't help but think of Michael Connelly's amazing Harry Bosch as I was reading this (Bosch probably being my all-time favorite fictional detective). I actually would sometimes even accidentally read "Ben" as "Bosch." Still, to be compared to Bosch and not come across completely lesser for it is pretty high praise. Ben is no Bosch, but he's a well-written character, even if he is a bit cliched from time to time. Yes, he's dealing with a past. Yes, he likes to break the rules to get the job done (hey, so does Bosch). My only issue was that it was implied that he sometimes let his detective work slip a bit due to his personal ties in one of the cases: that didn't seem right.

Still, overall I really enjoyed this novel. The two storylines--the first being the serial killer case, the second being the teen suicide--intersected well and kept the book moving. Ben's ties to the teen were surprising and gave the book an emotional depth I wasn't expecting. While I'm not sure Drew could keep up the emotional rollercoaster for every novel, I could see Detective Ben Wade becoming a recurring character in a series. If so, I would certainly read the next book. 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 05/23/2017.

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Detective Benjamin Wade is confronted with dual mysteries in this book. One has to do with a serial killer who primarily strangles his unsuspecting victims. The other is more personal as it deals with the local high school and people he has known since his youth. There is a domestic aspect to the novel as he is divorced with a teenaged daughter and he and his ex wife are struggling with her emerging sexuality. There is a lot here in this novel but overall the author is successful melding the disparate plots.

It’s the mid-1980s and Detective Ben Wade has moved his family to Rancho Santa Elena, some thirty-five miles from Los Angeles. Hoping his peaceful hometown will mean a quieter life for his family, he believes serving on the local Rancho Santa Elena police force will be less dangerous than his big city police work, something he believes will give his wife, Rachel, peace of mind.

But things don’t work out that way, and Ben finds himself divorced and living apart from Rachel and his daughter, Emma. Complicating things, a serial killer known as the Night Prowler continues to elude capture, setting the town on edge. And Ben finds himself struggling with the dark secrets of his past. Can the detective keep the town safe or will its secrets spell its doom?

This literary drama takes readers into the heart and soul of Ben Wade with his deeply introspective musings. Richly atmospheric, the narrative pulls no punches in its examination of crimes against children. There is much to pull at the reader’s heartstrings: events of the past, victims of the serial killer, the detective’s dilemma. At times dark and disturbing, the engrossing narrative offers readers much to consider.

Highly recommended.

Shadow Man, Alan Drew, author, Will Damron, narrator
There are two major themes running parallel in this novel. One is about serious abuse by a parent, and the other is about serious sexual abuse, of women and of minors. At the hands of authority figures, minors are often confused about what is acceptable vs. unacceptable behavior. Women are often overpowered by men who go unpunished for their behavior. Irresponsible, reprehensible parenting often goes unnoticed or unreported. Ultimately, all abuse has serious consequences for its victims. Hopefully, there will also be serious consequences for the perpetrators of such heinous and criminal behavior. There is a third more subtle theme about illegal immigration and the plight of the families.
On one side of the equation is a child who has been seriously abused and totally neglected by his father. He was kept locked in a basement for six years. Although someone had to have known something evil was going on in his house, no one spoke up to encourage an investigation which would have stopped the child from being tormented and destroyed. He grew up hoping to be set free, wanting to escape from his prison of darkness in the basement; he grew up angry; he grew up severely damaged. He grew up very disturbed, mentally and stunted physically. His childhood memories haunted him. He learned to live in both the world of the present and the world of his past with detrimental consequences. His childhood self was in control of his evil behavior. He enjoyed experiencing the fear of others because it helped consume his own. He lived a secret life. Who witnessed his torment? Why did they keep silent?
On the other side of the equation we have Ben. He and his wife Rachel have shared custody of their only child, Emma. They were once high school sweethearts. Ben had been a star swimmer as a high school student, but not a star son. His father had died when he was thrown from a horse while they were both out riding. Although he was only a young child, Ben felt responsible. When his mom remarried, he did not get along with his stepfather. He threw himself into swimming, and his high school swim coach became his mentor and father figure. However, his experiences during those teenage formative years led Ben to want to escape, and he altered the course of his life when he gave up swimming. He continued to suffer mental anguish from his memories. He harbored secrets that he was too ashamed to share with anyone. What happened to Ben? Was anyone aware of his teenage suffering? If so, why did they remain silent?
While the abused child lived in the shadows after he was freed from his basement hell, Ben chose to live in the public eye as a decorated police officer. When his quiet California neighborhood was terrorized by a serial killer on the loose, Ben was called in to investigate it. With the Medical Examiner, Natasha, who had her own secrets, he discovered clues that could lead him not only to the serial killer, but also to face his memories that have haunted his subconscious since his teenage years. The story is mostly about these two men. One turns to murder, the other to fighting crime. One turns to madness, the other tries hard to remain sane. Both men suffer from their personal ordeals, both are haunted by their memories or should I say nightmares.
The author does a good job of getting inside the heads of the tormented and the tormentors. I thought that some parts of the story seemed to parallel the sadism often found in Stephen King novels. The author seriously proved the point that how you are treated really affects how you turn out. Cowards do not face their problems and confront them. Brave people do face them and deal with them. They do not turn a blind eye to evil, hoping someone else will address it. They deal with it even when it means they must face humiliation and shame to correct it. They do what they must to prevent others from suffering the same ill gotten fate. Secrets create problems that cannot be resolved. Adults must be the examples.
The narrator portrayed each character well. The reader feels the tension created and anticipates the action that is coming at them, sustaining their continued interest.

Same old same old

There is nothing wrong with this book. It's reasonably well written and the characters are all well developed and there is a story. The problem is that I seem to have read this same book a hundred times in the past 3 years of reviewing for NetGalley. (In particular it could almost be the Jimmy Vega series by Suzanne Chazin.) So give it a miss and find something more unusual.

I received a review copy of "Shadow Man: A Novel" by Alan Drew (Random House) through NetGalley.com.

NB Why are so many books subtitled "A Novel" these days? Will the next rounds be "A New Novel" and then "A Different Novel" or "Yes this is a Novel"?

This was a last-minute impulse buy from the bestsellers section at the bookstore. I wasn't sure why I picked it up except that the cover looked so familiar to Hosseini's The Kite Runner. Similar in size, at least.

Anything Islamic seems to sell these days. Set in Istanbul, Turkey, first time writer Alan Drew's story traces the life of Sinan and his family as he struggles caused through the upheavals of an earthquake that devastates his home. Poignant, and moving, the book mainly traces richly the character of Sinan, his daughter Irem, and son Ismail.

Intriguing to me was the central theme of conflict between the Muslim Sinan and the Christian American whose wife helps his own son to live through her death. Sinan's conflict in being in debt to a country that he despises is fascinating to read through. Yet, it was not Sinan I liked the most. It was the character of Irem - her rebellion, her disdain for society's mores echoing my own beliefs.

I read the book through the night from 1:30AM to 5AM. It was worth the loss of sleep. In the end, I wanted to read more..

A very intense and suspenseful read that I found to be very well written and definitely unputdownable. The book was long (definitely worth the money) and never was I bored. It took me all day to read outside on a beautiful spring day. The weather was good, the book was great and it was a very enjoyable day.

Plenty of action going on trying to catch this very strange serial killer which held my interest while I ripped through the pages.

Thanks to Random House Publishing and Net Galley for approving and allowing me to read and review this thriller!

A serial killer is on the loose in Southern California and he or she has everyone in on edge. Ben Wade is the policeman responsible for finding and stopping this killer. Before he can get a handle on the case the body of a young boy is found in a strawberry field. The young Mexican immigrant doesn't fit the killers normal pattern and Wade begins to wonder if the boy hasn't committed suicide. If not, a second murderer may be lurking close to home.

In this novel, which is tense and chilling, Alan Drew combines the murder mystery and hunt for a serial killer with a family drama that contains a painful past that Ben Wade will have difficulty sharing. It all makes for a complex but thrilling tale. Frankly, I didn't expect to like as much as I did but by the end I could hardly put it down. Not only was this a well written piece of fiction, it had an electrical current pulsing though it which really got under my skin.

Thanks to Shelf-Awareness and Random House for providing the giveaway that allowed me to read and review this book.
More reviews at: www.susannesbooklist.blogspot.com

Detective Ben Wade is in charge of the investigation into a series of crimes by serial killer, and is simultaneously looking into the death of a young illegal immigrant. He is unsure if the two cases are related. He is assisted in his efforts by Natasha Betencourt, a tough and attractive medical examiner. What appeals to her about Ben is that, unlike many detectives, he won’t let cases rest, chasing down every angle in an attempt to get justice for the victim. But this time, he is holding back, and won’t tell her why. As she muses about why his wife Rachel left him, “He was a room with a locked door, and a wife wanted access.”

This psychological thriller is somewhat slower-paced than usual entries into the genre, and also differs in focusing on the sexual and psychological abuse of young boys instead of females. It works more as a sensitive and well-done look at the damage done to victims of such abuse, than as a “thriller” per se.

Evaluation: The writing is accomplished, evincing those tell-tale Iowa Writers’ Workshop evocative paragraph endings, but I wouldn’t necessarily characterize it as a “thriller.” Also, it is set in 1986, but I never quite figured out what difference that year made to the story.½

I found this serial-killer novel -- it's not at all a mystery or a thriller-- a little formulaic. Divorced, tired, jaded detective in his home town with a dark history of his own he must come to terms with? Check. Santa Ana winds signaling grave danger, and spooky atmosphere? Check. Tough-as-nails female crime-scene investigator stooping over and whispering to dead bodies to learn their secrets? Check. Serial killer who leaves a signature mark of etchings into the walls of his victims? Check. 1980s "gritty" atmosphere (which is anything but)? Check.

This just wasn't for me. Thank you to the publisher for a review copy.

When I read the publicity blurb for this book, it immediately ticked all the boxes for me. Thriller? Excellent. Set in the 1980’s? Cool. Compared to Dennis Lehane? Hand it over.

But….despite an eek-inducing prologue, what we have here is a book that is being marketed to appeal to thriller fans which IMHO does a disservice to the author. This is a beautifully written story about a broken man trying to come to terms with his past. He just happens to be a cop involved in the search for a serial killer.

Ben Wade is a former LAPD detective who moved back to his hometown of Rancho Santa Elena in an attempt to save his failing marriage. It didn’t work. He & Rachel divorced but maintain an amicable relationship for the sake of daughter Emma.

Santa Elena is a carefully planned bedroom community designed for those seeking to escape the crime & bustle of Los Angeles. It’s a safe place to raise your family & Ben’s biggest challenges are handling drunks & shop lifters. That’s about to change.

There’s been a series of murders in Orange County with a specific MO & when a woman is found dead in her home in Mission Viejo, it appears the killer has moved into the area. Body #2 confirms their fears & for the first time, Santa Elena’s shocked residents begin to seriously consider locking their doors. Ben & his colleagues are stumped. Their workload gets heavier when the body of a teenager is found in a strawberry field. Despite being an illegal immigrant, the boy was a star swimmer on the local high school team & destined for an athletic scholarship to college.

A handful of short chapters interspersed throughout the book put us inside the mind of the killer. It’s a scary place to be & as he describes scenes from his childhood, we begin to understand how he became a twisted man.

But the vast majority of the book belongs to Ben. Initially, he comes across as a sympathetic character who spends a lot of time thinking about past mistakes & mourning what he’s lost. Instead of making things better, moving back to Santa Elena seems to have had the opposite effect. The added job stress is a catalyst for his increasingly erratic behaviour but it’s not until late in the book that we realize what was always simmering below the surface. As Ben reminisces, we learn of his childhood & how the early death of his father was a turning point. These passages are poignant & atmospheric & you feel for the little boy who remains even as Ben grow into a rebellious teenager who goes on to become a cop. As the story progresses, there are definite parallels between him & the killer. Both are held hostage by their pasts & it makes you ponder how they ended up on opposite sides.

This is not a thriller & that’s no bad thing. It’s a slow burn type of book with a strong sense of time & place, written in fluid & descriptive prose. Maybe the publishers found it difficult to assign a label. For me, it’s more a character driven police procedural. Yes, there are mysteries & it does contain a killer but everything revolves around & serves to develop the MC. So if you’re looking for an edge-of-you-seat kind of read, you may be disappointed. But if you’re in the mood for rich, literary drama you’ll find much to enjoy here.½

This mystery takes place in Southern California in the 1980's. Solid mystery, but slow pacing in places. Duel timeline as the protagonist must deal with his past in order to solve the current murder. Trigger warnings for child abuse.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

I've finished this book, clearly, since I'm here writing a review. Now I'm trying to come up with the right words, which I'm finding a challenge, because, while I enjoyed aspects of the story, I'm also supremely irritated. First, I'll tell you that the writing is good. Alan Drew is a talented guy. But I'm thinking that he has his genre wrong. Or the marketing is wrong. This book is not at all what it claims to be.

Within the first line of the book's description, in bold type: "...gritty thriller about an idyllic community rocked by a serial killer..." This is not a thriller. Not even a little bit. And, I'm sorry, but I'm really tired of publishers tossing the word "thriller" around in order to sell books. This story is far too slow and meandering to be a thriller. I'd call it literary drama. The content is heavy on introspection and reflection.

Next, the description leads us to believe this book is about a serial killer. It's not. The first few pages start by putting us in the serial killer's mind, which is, again, a cue that this killer is a central figure within the story. He's not. The bulk of this story is about Ben, his family drama, an illegal immigrant teen boy who may or may not have committed suicide, and a link to something that happened to Ben as a teenage boy. This is a major storyline, and an issue that deserved, and should have had, its own spotlight. The serial killer aspect feels like a sideline, something sprinkled in to give the story the necessary grit needed to label it a thriller. We don't feel any urgency within the town or even the various police departments. Most of the time, we're not even chasing that case. We remain wrapped up in Ben's emotional issues. Then, at the end, there is an attempt to link the killer with the dead boy, which feels like a cheap stretch in order to get the two storylines connected.

Ben is a likable character. He's well-developed and complex, a mix of cowboy loner and broken hero. The other characters are more two-dimensional, supporting roles to Ben's lead, and the serial killer is a combination of stereotypes.

One more thing I want to note is that this story takes place in the 1980s. It's not a problem that this isn't within the description, but I wish there'd been an author note at the start to help orient readers. I was thrown off at first by some of the content because I didn't realize the story took place 30+ years in the past.

I did enjoy Ben's story, the main story, apart from the serial killer. I think the description sets false expectations going in, and the author's attempt to weave the serial killer thread into an otherwise dramatic, emotional story, hurts what could have been a powerful reading experience.

*I received an advance copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.*

3.5 / 5 stars. At times the story dragged a little so I couldn't give it a 4. This book really gets your thinking about different religious views and how there really is no right or wrong....just a personal choice as to what you hold in your heart. I had a hard time wrapping my head around some choices made based on beliefs though.

Well, I was 100 pages in and then lost the book for about 3 weeks. I found it under the front seat of my car (where I swear I looked before!) and am about 2/3 of the way through. Interesting story - kind of a Turkish Romeo and Juliet with Kurds and Americans, but the writing is very simplistic. A good book for YA readers.

If I had only "read" this book, I would probably give it only two stars. But I had the rather different experience of listening to parts of it and reading parts of it. It is the story of a Kurdish Muslim family and its interaction with an American Christian family after an earthquake in Turkey. (The clash of cultures is the rather obvious part of the plot, but how that clash is played out is not as obvious) The reader of the audio version gave such an emotion-filled rendition of each of the character's voices that I felt like I knew each one individually and intimately. He could switch from the accented voice of the Muslim father to the teen-age slang of the American son to the anguished voice of the Muslim daughter. The parts that I actually "read" were only "so-so," but they came to life when I imagined hearing the voice of the reader. I would probably not recommend that you read this book, but I would definitely recommend that you listen to this book. And this comes from a person who very much prefers turning the page to turning up the volume.

5131. Garden of Waters A Novel by Alan Drew (read 7 Mar 2014) This 2008 novel by an American who taught in Turkey is laid at the time of the 1999 Izmit earthquake, and has as its characters a Kurdish family living in the area of the earthquake and an American family trying to help the earthquake victims. But the 17-year-old son of the American family gets entangled with the 15-year-old daughter of the Kurdish family, to the horror of her parents. It is a classic problem, reminding me, I suppose illogically, of the unforgettable novel of A. J. Cronin, Hatter's Castle, which I read 19 Oct 1946. I could not help but be struck by the readiness of the Moslem parents to hate those who did not conform to their moral code, deplorable as their daughter's lapse was.

Like many good books, this is a complex story with many layers and ideas. Although there were characters on all sides of these lines, they were all sympathetic and their points of view were valid and made sense. Sinan is caught between his inclinations, his fears, his faith, and the place he holds in society. In the end I think that is what I gleaned from this novel - that no one can just "be". There are always these outside pressure to be something else, to comply, to see the world from someone else's view. There is tragedy in this novel and also something approaching grace.

This is a very sad story about the effect of the war and a earthquake on a Kurdish family living in Turkey. It details the customs of a religious Muslim family and how they can divide a family.