Review: Casualties by Elizabeth Marro

Casualties

by Elizabeth Marro

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 368

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Some come back whole. Some come back broken. Some just never come back...
 
As an executive for one of the most successful military defense contractors in the country, Ruth Nolan should have been thrilled when her troubled son, Robbie, chose to join the marines. But she wasn’t. She was terrified.

So, when he returns home to San Diego after his second tour in Iraq, apparently unscathed, it feels like a chance to start over and make things right—until a scandal at work tears her away from their reunion. By the next morning, Robbie is gone. A note arrives for Ruth in the mail a few days later saying, “I’m sorry for everything. It’s not your fault. I love you.”

Without a backward glance, Ruth packs up Robbie’s ashes and drives east, heading away from her guilt and regret. But the closer she gets to the coast she was born on, the more evident it becomes that she won’t outrun her demons—eventually, she’ll have to face them and confront the painful truth about her past, her choices, the war, and her son. 

Kritters Thoughts:  I am not sure if this is the first Iraq war fiction I have read and I am sad by that because there is quite a catalog of them now and I have heard great things.  This one started exactly where I hoped it would, but I lost if halfway and for that I am so sad - it went somewhere that I didn't expect and it didn't seem like the right path for Ruth, the main character.  It isn't what I would have chosen for her, so for that I didn't love it, but I would still read another book by Elizabeth Marro.  

Have you ever wished something else for a main character?  

The thing that I adored was how she portrayed Robbie as he came home from Iraq and wasn't ready to go back to "normal."  It felt completely honest and I appreciated that it was hard to hear how he felt about his friends and family.  


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.