The Causative Factor by Megan Staffel ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Causative factors are things that cause something to happen.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

October 2024; Regal House; 978-1646034932
ebook, print (223 pages); women's fiction

Rachel and Rubiat meet in art school and are assigned a project to work on together.  They were supposed to figure out each other's secret motivation in life and then create a project that expresses it through movement.  There is instant passion between the two of them and after spending the night together, they take a hike on a nearby trail.  Rubiat tells her that he often acts in a very spontaneous way and he proves it during their walk by disappearing.  All that's left are his shoes at the end of a cliff.  It is assumed by the police that he had jumped but his body was never found so no one really knew what happened to him.  After he disappears, Rachel uses her longing for him to create art in remembrance of him.  She never really believed that he was dead and her art explores her feelings about his loss.  Even when she finds someone who wants to have a relationship with her, she realizes that she has to solve the mystery of Rubiat's disappearance before she can care for someone else.

The negative part of the novel for me is that I didn't like either main character and I didn't really understand their motivation.  The problem may be me and how long it has been since I first fell in love.  I thought that both approached life from very different directions.  Rachel put too much of her life to her memory of Rubiat and he just seemed to be floating through life -- starting off as an artist and ending up as a plumber is a bit difficult to believe.  However, the overall story made this an interesting book to read.  It explores the connection between art and love and how complex people can be as they search for love.  

Buy The Causative Factor at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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