Song to the Siren Barb Lien-Cooper and Park Cooper
When two young documentary filmmakers start investigating the enigmatic death of the infamous Reed Sinclair, founder of the never-quite-made-it indie rock group The Big Carnival, they interview Reed's former girlfriend, photographer Samantha ("Sam") MacNamara-- who tells them the story of a seeming love triangle between herself, Reed, and a frightening entity named Belle. Belle may have simply been how Reed's troubled mental state interpreted multiple tragedies and coincidences in his life... or she may have been a supernatural being. As the filmmakers begin to uncover the frightening truth, Sam must face the riddle of her relationship with Reed if she wants to step into the light, away from the specter of Belle and the shadow that was cast over Sam’s life.
Two documentary film makers, Ryan, and Brandon, set out to interview Sam about the band Big Carnival. They wanted to know more about Reed and the details of his death, but Sam seems a bit reluctant at first to tell the truth. She’s never told a living soul until now.
As soon as I jumped into this book it was hard to put down. When I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again and often found myself thinking about Reed. The authors did a wonderful job of making this a gripping tale.
The story is told mostly in dialog. An interview style that captures the failures and successes of Big Carnival as well as Reed, the band members, and Samantha. I personally loved the writing style. It was very fitting for the story and made me feel like I had a seat at the table with the interviewers and Sam. I anxiously awaited what details she would give next about Reed’s life. It was fascinating, creepy, and heartbreaking all at once.
Reed has earned a spot in my favorite characters. He is broken, flawed, but still so caring. I finished this book days ago and I still think about his character. That's how much I love the guy. Amazing character development with Reed. I couldn’t wait to find out how all the details of the interview came together in the documentary. The ending was hauntingly beautiful and moving to me. A book I will not soon forget.
Indie Book Addict Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The book will be releasing in October 2022.
About the Authors
Barb is originally from Minnesota. She was a radio DJ for a while in college, and then she grew up to become a guitarist/singer-songwriter and got an album put out on the Imp label.
Now we pop over to Park, in central Texas. Like Barb, Park also read comics (and a LOT of books) in his youth as well (a lot more sci-fi and fantasy books than Barb, and a lot more Marvel comics than Barb). Then he started college and said "I need an extra hobby or something. Maybe I'll get back into comics again." He started doing so, including reading the comparatively avant-garde work coming out at that time from DC Comics...
These days, Barb and Park live happily together in Austin, Texas.
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