Rock Bottom : A Novel

From New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned environmental and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich comes Rock Bottom , a debut thriller and first in a series of novels that introduces one of the most fascinating and memorable characters in suspense fiction. Ten years ago, a pregnant seventeen-year-old, Angela Joy Palladino, fled her hometown, Scotia, West Virginia, as a pariah. Over time, AJ succeeded in establishing herself as an environmental activist, dubbed “The People’s Champion,” only to be forced to retreat from the spotlight in the wake of a crushing media disaster. When AJ is offered a job with a lawyer who is crusading against mountaintop removal mining, she is torn. As a single mother of a special needs nine-year-old boy, AJ can use any work she can get. But doing so will mean returning to the West Virginia hometown she left in disgrace so long ago. Upon arriving in Scotia, AJ learns of the sudden death of the lawyer who hired her. Soon after joining forces with his daughter, Elizabeth, threats begin to surface, bodies begin to pile up, and AJ discovers that her own secrets aren’t the only ones her mountain hometown has kept buried. Hitting rock bottom, AJ must face the betrayal of those once closest to her and confront the harrowing past she thought she had left behind. In Rock Bottom , Erin Brockovich combines passionate intensity, first-rate storytelling, and her real life experiences in a novel that will leave you breathless. From Publishers Weekly Environmental and consumer advocate Brockovich has created a protagonist in her own image in this highly melodramatic thriller, the first in a new series. Angela Joy "AJ" Palladino left Scotia, W.Va., population 867, as an unwed 17-year-old mother following a terrible accident that almost killed her. Ten years later, after success and fame in a battle against Capital Power that earned her the sobriquet "the People's Champion," she returns to Scotia, to assist lawyer Zachariah Hardy in a fight against Masterson Mining's new mountaintop removal project. When Hardy dies before AJ's arrival, she teams with Hardy's lawyer daughter, Elizabeth, to combat the company owned by dastardly Kyle Masterson and run by Kyle's son, Cole, father of AJ's son, David. As the two women wage an uphill battle against murderous opposition, Brockovich's environmental message gets buried in a sludge pile of clichés. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. From Booklist In this serviceable first novel by consumer advocateBrockovich, a well-known environmental activist, AJ Palladino, a single mother in her late twenties, returns to her West Virginia hometown to clerk for an activist lawyer. But when she arrives in the town of Scotia, she gets the worst possible news: the lawyer has just died. Soon AJ begins to suspect the man was murdered and that his daughter is also at risk. But who's responsible? Could it be AJ's former lover (not to mention the father of her son), Colt Masterson, whose mining company is operating in the area? While the novel will have appeal for Brockovich followers, some mystery readers might be annoyed by its poor construction'the jumps in point of view, for example, are handled clumsily'and by its very familiar and predictable story of corporate misuse of the environment. On the other hand, the prose flows smoothly enough, and AJ herself is, if not particularly original, at least appealing enough to interest those fond of the movie about Brockovich's own activism. --David Pitt As a single mom of a special-needs boy, Angela is happy for any work she can get, even if it means returning to the West Virginia hometown she left in disgrace. But when her new boss turns up dead, Angela discovers that her own secrets aren't the only ones her mountain hometown has kept buried.