The Peace Talk


Fiction - Suspense
442 Pages
Reviewed on 08/31/2024
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Gaius Konstantine for Readers' Favorite

Some secrets are a weight on the soul, and, rather than holding or keeping them, those secrets hold you with devastating consequences. The Peace Talk by Nina Blakeman is a novel of secrets hidden within lies and delusions. Four high school friends, who should have gone their separate ways if not for their shared guilt and efforts to stay out of prison, are shackled together through the years by one terrible secret. Yet they are not alone. In a small town where everyone seems to have a skeleton or two in the closet, nothing is as it appears, and some evil people wear respectability like a finely crafted suit of armor. But all secrets come with a price that must be paid in full. For the misanthropes living in Kraal County, Kansas, the bill has just been delivered.

I feel like I've just walked through a carnival of the insane and the damned. The Peace Talk is one of the most intriguing and superbly crafted psychological thrillers I have read in years. The plot is so intricate and menacing that it compares to a web crafted by the deadliest spider. What's more, there is nothing predictable about the story, and it has more twists and turns than the minotaur's labyrinth. Each character is unique, a bespoke creation, and perfectly developed, making the entire premise chillingly realistic. The pacing increases like a well-played Bolero, slow and soft to begin with and gaining intensity with each page turned. Nina Blakeman offers an outstanding addition to the genre, a masterful and tense tale comparable to Deliverance with just a touch of redemption added to the mix.

Delene Vrey

The Peace Talk by Nina R Blakeman is a psychological thriller that follows the lives of four young men, Hal, Monty, Gary, and Andy, who become entwined in a decade-old murder. Secrets are uncovered when the deceased’s daughter Angela Watt was found dead at this year’s vigil. Monty was in a state of shock but at least Hal and Gary believed that he did not kill her. Monty’s dad, Judge Reardon, seemed to be implicated in his disappearance after a chase during which Hal was shot in the leg. Gary and Hal discover new information when investigating the matter at Judge Reardon’s home. There was no sign of Monty, although there was evidence that he was still alive. Why was Judge Reardon so adamant about making a soldier out of Monty? What family secrets lurk in the dark and how will the truth affect the dynamic between the four young men?

Nina R Blakeman addresses subjects such as childhood trauma and mental health in her novel The Peace Talk. The book explores various versions of loving someone based on your terms, loving for personal gain, loving unconditionally, and loving someone naively. Blakeman has a unique writing style that makes the story easy to read and difficult to put down. Each chapter has an unforeseen plot twist that adds layers to the story and depth to the characters. The role players in Blakeman’s narrative are believable and show character growth. I would recommend this book to psychological thriller fans but note that the novel is focused on domestic disputes. There are some scenes involving sex, reference to death, and decapitation, and is therefore not suitable for a young audience.