Book Review: Snowblind

This review originally appeared on East Niagara Post on December 2, 2014

After I graduated from the youth and tween books, I found myself gravitating toward works by Stephen King. I’m talking about the old-school King like It, Tommyknockers, and The Stand. These were the books that would scare the crap out of you.  After time, King’s books drifted away from scaring you out of your pants and seemed to tame a little. They’re still great works, but they seem to have lost a bit of that extra edge.

Book Review: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

This post originally appeared on East Niagara Post at:

http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/11/its-novel-idea-first-fifteen-lives-of.html

Imagine if when you died, you were immediately reborn to live that life all over again and you remembered everything from your previous life or lives.  What would you do differently? Would you be able to amass a fortune with all that you had learned before?  What if there were others like you in the world? Would they help you or hinder you? Those are some of the questions raised in the novel "The First Fifteen Lives of Henry August" by Claire North.

This novel is highly entertaining and very original. I was engaged from the first page, all the way to the last, and was kept guessing as to where the plot twists would take me. This was one of the books that I couldn’t put down as soon as I opened the cover.

Right from the first paragraph I was hooked. As old Henry August is dying in his bed, he is visited by a strange little girl who gives him a message to carry to his next life — the world is ending. Now it falls to Henry to try to stop this predicament in his next few lives.

What immediately comes to mind is the movie, “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray. This novel could be considered in that vein except Henry August isn’t re-living a single day. He relives his entire life over and over. He is able to use his knowledge to steer humanity away from the precipice. Of course, he fails a couple times, gets bored, and gets shanghaied by another of his kind. In the end, his lives are defined by how he tackles the issue of how to curtail the end of the world.

One of the best parts of the novel isn't only the plot. The writing style of Claire North keeps the reader engaged, anxious to turn the pages to see if August is triumphant in his quest. North weaves several tales into one long epic. Each of August’s lives rings with its own emotion. Some lives read with desperation as our hero feels opportunity slipping away. Others read with pleasure as he once again meets up with the love of his life. The reader lives with August through his highs and lows.

Each of Henry August’s lives are different enough to keep the reader wondering what will happen next in each life, but similar enough that you know that it is the same person dealing with the same situations in different ways. Through flashbacks of different lives, the reader is able to assemble the various pieces of the puzzle and guess as to the solution to save the world. It is not without pitfalls, but it is ingeniously fun and engaging.

I should note that Claire North is a pseudonym. The mysteriousness of the author makes the story all that more intriguing. After reading this single work, I hope that the Claire North persona writes more novels as well done as this. Likewise, if he or she has written other novels under his or her own name, I hope that we can someday soon discover these other works. I highly recommend "The First Fifteen Lives of Henry August "if you are looking for some great leisure reading.

Book Review: Hollow World

In my ongoing effort to get all my book reviews reposted, here is the latest throwback review. This article originally appeared on East Niagara Post at:

http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/11/its-novel-idea-hollow-world.html

It seems today that in Hollywood and on television that reboots or re-tellings are the newest fad. Occasionally, there's an interesting take on an old favorite, such as the "Tin Man" twist on "Wizard of Oz." More often than not, we get a hackneyed mess that detracts from the original vision, like the Star Trek reboot, or the abominable remake of “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Now it seems that the reboot and revisioning epidemics have spread to books.

H.G. Wells is one of the all-time greatest science fiction writers. Period. He was writing at a time when most of his ideas were only a part of the imagination, and is considered the father of the science fiction genre. His novel, The Time Machine, published first in 1895, is a timeless classic. Holding such a prominent place in the pantheon of SF writers, many newcomers attempt to emulate the master.

"Hollow World" by Michael J Sullivan is a perfect example of that emulation as well as, unfortunately, hackneyed revisionism. The preview on the jacket of the book showed a lot of promise, which is why it came home from the library with me. The beginning of the book even lived up to its publisher’s hype.

Sullivan’s work is a modern re-telling of The Time Machine, complete with it’s own version of Morlock and Eloi. It’s set in modern-day Detroit, where the protagonist, Ellis Rogers, is a middle-aged man in a loveless marriage. Somehow, in his spare time, he has built a time machine in his garage with milk crates and a lawn chair.

The initial character development of Rogers is fantastic. We learn all about his marriage, the loss of a son through suicide, and the unfaithfulness of his wife with his best friend. He hides his terminal diagnosis from his friends and his wife. He is a sad man, looking to escape from the doldrums of his life and start fresh somewhere else. Actually, somewhen else, where a cure for his cancer would likely be available. He sets his machine for 200 years. However, just like in the original, his plans go awry and he ends up much farther in the future.

When he awakes in future Detroit, nothing is recognizable. The city has returned to wilderness with only the iconic clock tower of the Henry Ford Museum remaining. It is here the story takes a turn and begins to suffer. There are still groups of people, exactly like the original story. In this version, the surface dwellers represent the Morlocks while the subterranean people represent the peaceful Elois. 

The first thing Rogers observes is a murder. Among the Hollow Worlders, murder is a complete unknown. All the people living below ground have evolved into sexless beings who are all connected digitally through neural implants. It’s like having Google in your head. With everyone able to know everything you do, crime is virtually non-existent. Rogers is eyed with suspicion as the timing of his arrival and the murder coincided.

It is among the surface-dwellers, people labeled “Darwins” by the Hollow Worlders, that Rogers finds his greatest surprise and challenge. He struggles with the information that is presented to him and must figure out how to balance what he’s learned in his old life with what he’s learned in this new future. The very future of the planet rides on his choices. Simultaneously, he attempts to deal with the fact that he will never see his wife again while processing the fact that he finds himself attracted to one of the Hollow Worlders, an advanced human who is neither male nor female.

As I stated before, the premise of the story was well thought out. The beginning of the story was very well done. The development of Ellis Rogers makes the reader empathize with him as he makes a decision to turn his life upside-down. Unfortunately, Rogers is the only character who gets developed. The Darwins and Hollow Worlders are faint caricatures of the Morlocks and Elois and never evolve.

The biggest positive for the plot is that it moves right along. There are not a lot of extra words to make the scene. The writer’s flow makes it an enjoyable read as far as actually just reading. The rest of the plot falls into predictability just after Rogers finds himself in the future. Sullivan has added enough modernity to Wells’ original to make it more relevant to today’s reader’s but the storyline itself is almost a perfect imitation. While I have no problems with imitation, there’s not enough of the new author in this tale to make it stand alone from Wells’ The Time Machine.

Reading this book, I can tell you that Michael J. Sullivan is a talented writer and I look forward to seeing what he can do with a storyline of his own. His other book reviews have all shown high praises for its fantasy content. I hope the next science fiction work he completes will be an engaging and fun novel. For The Hollow World, it just needed to be more Sullivan and less Wells.

Book Review: The Book of Joe

Jonathan Tropper has quickly become one of my favorite authors. All his books are very funny and rooted in character development, (which is my favorite part of reading).

This review originally appeared at East Niagara Post at:

http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/11/its-novel-idea-book-of-joe.html

Occasionally, I run across an author who I just can’t stop reading. After I am introduced to one of his or her works, I must find everything else he or she has written. They are just that outstanding. That is the case and point with Jonathan Tropper. This review is not of a new release, but I sincerely felt the need to review one of his books.

A couple months ago, I was forwarded an email listing the 14 books I “had” to read before they were made into movies. On that list was "Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper. A movie starring Jason Bateman and Tina Fey, based on this book, came out in September. I read the book in a single day and made a special trip to the Lockport Library to see what else Mr. Tropper had written. I quickly found five other books by the same author, and his second book, "The Book of Joe," went home with me.

The Book of Joe is a fabulous read. This is the story of a man who lived in a small town in Connecticut, much like Lockport, and left it behind when he graduated from high school. Joe Goffman, once he leaves, decides to write the next, great American novel. Like most first novelists, Goffman used many, many aspects of his personal life to write his story. His included several aspects of the lives of his fellow townsfolk, not always in a flattering light. His novel was so successful that it was made into a movie.

Unfortunately, his former neighbors did not appreciate the way Goffman had portrayed them in the book.

Goffman had never returned to his former hometown after leaving. That is, until his father had a stroke and was not expected to live. Fifteen years after leaving Bush Falls in his taillights, Joe Goffman heads back to see his father one last time. Upon arrival, he is not met with a welcome mat, no hometown hero who made it big. Instead, he is greeted with sidelong glances and outright hostility. The first stop in town results with a milkshake poured over his head. Justifiably, most of his old neighbors view him as a pariah.

Aside from dealing with his father’s crisis, Goffman also has to deal with the fact that his father and brother were local basketball heroes in their youth. They were revered while he is reviled. He has to tiptoe through the mine field laid by his own work, now showcased for all time as a blockbuster film, and confront his own anger. Most of the time, this protagonist is also the antagonist – his own worst enemy.

Will he overcome the animosity, or will he scurry back to New York City, ignoring the problems he has created?

With this book, Jonathan Tropper has written a wonderful story that resonates with all people. His characters are rich and well thought out. They are very believable and are faced with decisions we all face every day. Tropper’s novels are not a Utopian story where it all works out in the end. The characters don’t always make the right choices, and sometimes they make just plain bad ones. It’s something we all do and it helps us grow as people. Tropper does this with his characters and it makes the story that much richer.

This novel is outrageously funny. There were times when I was laying bed reading when I chuckled out loud. To me that is the sign of a really well written story. What I really liked, though, was that the ending wasn’t a picture-perfect, fairytale ending. There was still enough doubt left to make it realistic. Though Goffman resolved some of the conflicts in his life, not all were immediately settled. That’s the way it is in real life.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper. I have already been back to the library to collect the next work printed after this one. I hope that Everything Changes lives up to the same expectations. So far, all indications point to yes.

Book Review: I Am Abraham

This review originally appeared on East Niagara Post at:

http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/10/its-novel-idea-i-am-abraham.html

"I Am Abraham" by Jerome Charyn is another piece of historical fiction from the Lockport Public Library that I just read. It may be the historian in me, but I really like to read books from this genre, though they need to be well done. Fortunately, this one is.

This book is the life of Abraham Lincoln as told from his point of view. Honest Abe speaks to the reader in a midwestern, folksie style that likely was his actual way of speaking. With his innate compassion, dry wit, and playful anecdotes, Lincoln describes every aspect of his life. While a piece of fiction, Charyn was constricted by the fact that so many books have been written about the life of our 16th President.

Lincoln is presented with a self-deprecating humor and delivers to the reader a unique insight to his life. Was he truly self-conscious about his height, sunken pallor, and clumsiness? The President’s interactions with his various generals, particularly General McClellan, were awkward and often bordered on outright insubordination. While today, Lincoln is nearly universally revered as one of our most popular presidents, in his day, he was as equally vilified as he was revered. It is not much different today with current leaders.

Lincoln’s often strained relationship with his wife, Mary Todd, is explored and shows a man who was devoted to his wife despite all the manners in which she grated on him. While he was an easy going country boy, Mary was a high class woman of the city. Their views of the world were often at odds. However, they both were enamoured with their children. His children were the light of his life. When son Willie died while they were living at the White House, Lincoln’s normal melancholy deepened even further. Chayrn captures the spirit with aplomb. He allows the readers to feel as if he or she  actually knows the man despite 150 years separating them.

Probably the biggest negative, if not the only, is some of the word usage, particularly cuss words. At the beginning of the book, the “F-Word” is used twice. The word was certainly known during the time period of 1830-1840, however, it was very rarely used. It would have been extremely odd for Lincoln to utter such a word. Other words, such as “gol-darned” or “damned” were considered among the harshest words of the age. Likely, the author wanted to convey a sense of frustration that Lincoln was feeling while a Captain during the Black Hawk War. Most of today’s readers would not understand the impact of “gol-darned” as much as they would with the “F-Word.”

All in all, Jerome Charyn delivers a masterful novel that recreates historical moments as if he had actually observed it, while bringing a whole new perspective on one of the most written subjects in American history. I enjoyed the flow with which the narrative was written. It was written as if the reader were holding an actual conversation with Lincoln himself. That makes it all that much more fun to read.

Book Review: The Painted Girls

Here's another throwback to some of my early reviews at East Niagara Post. I assure you, Cathy Marie Buchanan will NOT be at the library at 6:30.

This post originally appeared at:

http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/10/its-novel-idea-painted-girls.html

At 6:30 p.m., Cathy Marie Buchanan will be speaking at the Lockport Public Library about her book, "The Painted Girls." My review this week will be this book as sort of a teaser for tonight’s presentation. I have to admit right off that this work was not the normal type of book I would read. However, as Ms. Buchanan is a local author, I always do my best to support. There is a lot of ballet in this book, and while all my daughters have been involved with ballet, I was not familiar with all moves and traditions involved.

"The Painted Girls" is a historical-fiction novel set in Paris 1878-1885. The novel centers around the van Goethem sisters and ballet at the Paris Opera House intertwined with the art of Edgar Degas as well as the criminal lives of Emile Abadie and Michel Knoblach.

The story begins in dark days for the van Goethem family. The patriarch has just passed away, and the mother is spiraling deep into an absinthe stupor while struggling as a laundress to keep her family clothed and housed. The three sisters, Antoinette, Marie and Charlotte are forced to mostly fend for themselves. Antoinette, the oldest, brings in a little more money as an extra at the opera house. Her younger sisters are accepted into the same prestigious school where the hopes are they will earn parts on stage to supplement the household income.

When Antoinette’s outspoken manner starts to alienate her from some of the very people who are able to help her, she falls under the spell of the mysterious Emile Abadie. Marie, initially reluctant to join the dance, finds herself becoming one of the better dancers at the school. She also comes under the eye of Edgar Degas who feels she is his muse for several of his works, including the sculpture, Little Dancer Aged 14. Meanwhile the youngest, Charlotte, disappears into the background of the story to make only sporadic appearances throughout the narrative.

Behind the glamour of the Paris Opera House and our romantic vision of Paris, is the dark reality of that city in the late 19th-century. While people were enamoured with the sparkle and glitter the ballet had to offer, behind the shine was the grime of everyday life. Families struggled to make a living. Some of their options were legitimate enterprises. Too often, the easier path was burglary and prostitution. This extended even to the ballet. For a girl to ascend to the pinnacle of the dance, it took more than sheer talent. Sometimes it took the abonnes, the wealthy male subscribers to the ballet, with their money and favors to push along their favorite girls.

Marie models for Degas to earn some extra money. At the same time, she finds an abonne of her own, in Monsieur Lefebvre. What costs come with this sponsorship and will she be able to fulfill those committments? At the same time, what will Antoinette do for what she thinks is love? Despite the fact that each of the sisters feels they can do it on their own, they slowly come to realize that they, in fact, do need each other.

As I stated at the beginning, this was a challenging book for me. While all four of my children have taken ballet, I did not know most of the ballet terms from the book and spent some time looking up their meanings. That aside, I thought this book was fantastically written. I liked Buchanan’s previous book (The Day the Falls Stood Still) and I liked this one just as much.

Buchanan not only sets the scene of late 19th-century Paris with great aplomb, she builds characters that are deep, believeable and evocative. She takes on the lives of real people and brings them back to life for her readers. Her rich prose gives the reader a 400-page glimpse into the lives of the van Goethem sisters and Edgar Degas to a lesser extent.

Sometimes with writing historical fiction, authors do a disservice to the real people they are reliving. Cathy Marie Buchanan takes the real lives of several people and builds a world around them steeped in history and just enough imagination to keep the reader involved. She makes you wonder what decision each of the girls is going to make and where each will wind up.

This book was well worth the time. I enjoyed the story that was told, and cannot wait to hear Ms. Buchanan speak about her work on Tuesday night. It is always interesting to hear the process an author goes through to bring their ideas to life. I know I will be at the Lockport Library at 6:30. I hope to see some of you there, too.

Book Review: The Wind Is Not a River

This review originally appeared on East Niagara Post at:
http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/10/its-novel-idea-wind-is-not-river.html

Here's a throwback to my first book review on Eastniagarapost.com. I can't believe I've been doing this for over a year. My first review was posted on ENP October 14, 2014. 

I would like to start off by saying that I like to read — a lot. I generally read two or three books a week, and it seems like all the librarians at the Lockport Public Library know me on sight. I always head directly to the “New Releases” by the circulation desk to catch the latest and greatest by authors both established and new. I hope to be able to bring a few reviews to you each month on some of these new releases.

I just finished "The Wind is Not a River" by Brian Payton. While this one came out back in January, it took quite awhile for it to become available at the library. Apparently, several other readers also felt it quite worthy to read. I can assure you that it was worth the wait.

This historical-fiction novel is set during World War II in Seattle and Attu Island in the Aleutian chain of Alaska. In a largely forgotten aspect of the war, the Japanese had invaded Attu, making it the only incursion of enemy forces on American soil. At the time, the US Government sheltered the news of this invasion from the general public, instead choosing to focus on the mounting victories in North Africa and Italy. With this obscurity, Payton was given the freedom to weave a tale that, while fiction, also captured the spirit of this turbulent time in our history.

The story centers around dual main characters. John and Helen are a husband and wife who are torn apart by the war waging so close to home. John, a journalist by trade, feels it is his duty to report on the war after his younger brother, Warren is killed in Europe. He volunteers to jump into the front lines of a Japanese invasion of Alaska, although US leaders have forbidden the media to enter or report from the Aleutians. Unfortunately, John’s plane is shot down and only he and one other man survive the crash, stuck behind enemy lines.

Meanwhile, back at home in Seattle, Helen realizes that she and John did not part on the greatest of terms. When she learns that her husband is missing, she leaves behind the comfort of home to join a USO tour, hoping to inch closer to John as well as maybe learn more information about the downed plane. Although she has had no training in song and dance, she finds herself assigned to a troupe heading to Juneau. She discovers very quickly that people are not as genuine as they appear. Her sheltered life has not prepared her for the rest of the world, especially the ways of soldiers away from home and loved ones for so very long.

The story is told through a series of snapshots, rather than a long narrative. Each chapter separates the narratives of John and Helen. As John’s time behind enemy lines hiding from the Japanese grows, his narratives become shorter and more hurried. His story becomes more frantic as the likelihood of discovery grows and the chance of rescue lessens. Meanwhile, Helen’s character grows with her story as she leaves behind all she has ever known and discovers more of the ways of the world.

"The Wind is Not a River" is a fantastic book, well worth the 300 pages. I read it in a single day, eager to find out whether John and Helen ever find each other again (I’m not telling. You’re going to have to read it yourself.) It combines history in a very realistic way with the fictional narrative of two people who represent the struggles felt by every couple in every war. Brian Payton engages the reader with sympathetic characters. These characters make you want to rush to the end to make sure everything turns out okay. Of course, like real life, there are many bumps along the way.

Here’s hoping you enjoy the next book you read!

Book Review: The Sage of Waterloo

This post originally appeared on East Niagara Post at:

 http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2015/10/its-novel-idea-sage-of-waterloo.html

Sometimes when I’m looking for books at the library, I search for books that I may review for East Niagara Post which fall outside my normal reading genres. The review this week is of a book that I wouldn’t normally read. In my ongoing efforts to bring you the best product I can, I will occasionally grab those odd books. This week’s selection, The Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe, is one of those books that is outside my comfort zone.

The Sage of Waterloo is a mixed historical fiction and modern parable. William is a modern-day, white rabbit living on the site of the Battle of Waterloo from 1815. Echoes from that great battle still reverberate across the hallowed ground, to be picked up by attuned senses of the animals currently living there.

Memories of the battle are passed down through the collective memories of the elders of the rabbit hutch. William’s grandmother, Old Lavender, teaches her protege how to decipher the ghosts roaming across the rolling hills of Belgium. After two hundred years, the impact of the battle can be relived through a set of adventures by a curious rabbit.

Flashes of the 1815 action are intermixed with adventures by rabbits over the same area. The memories passed down from rabbit to rabbit deliver an historical record from a unique point of view. When William is adopted by a family in a nearby village he gains a whole new perspective on life and the battle. He gains a new understanding of human nature and how the humans have distanced themselves from the very nature they live in. William and his clan are finely attuned to the changes in their environment, even to the atrocities of that nature from two centuries earlier.

While I thought that the premise of this book could have been interesting, I felt that the rabbit aspect of the book detracted from some otherwise impeccable historical research. The author’s grasp of the background of the Battle of Waterloo is very well done. The rabbit angle had the possibility of adding a unique look at the two hundred year old event. Instead, it took away from what could have been an extremely well done piece of historical fiction.

Pontificating rabbits with a paw on the pulse of human nature had the potential to be great. What we’re treated to was somewhat disjointed. I liked the idea that there was a collective memory for these animals. It reminded me of the how traditions were handed down orally generation after generation to preserve the ancient past. It is not too far fetched that a group of animals might have a similar ability.

The Sage of Waterloo is Leona Francombe’s first novel. While I was not sold on the rabbit aspect, I did find her attention to the historic detail to be wonderful. She puts a lot of time into her research, and that quality shines through the narrative. I hope that her next novel is another piece of historical fiction with just as much effort put into creating an accurate rendition of some event. It would be a fantastic read.

Craig Bacon thinks most animals know more than they let on. Follow him on Twitter at @hippieboy73 to see what the neighborhood cat forces him to write. Cats rule the universe.

Book Review: Eeny Meeny

This review originally appeared at East Niagara Post at:
 http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2015/10/its-novel-idea-eeny-meeny.html

This week’s review concerns a novel that is a psychological thriller that makes the reader wonder “What would you do? What decision would you make?” Not all choices are easy, and this book will make the hardest ones even harder. "Eeny Meeny" by M.J. Arlidge is one of those books that keeps you turning pages while you bite your nails wondering what choice the characters will make.

Imagine being trapped with your loved one or best friend with no chance of escape. The two of you have been kidnapped and locked away by an unknown assailant. This person gives you one avenue for escape. There is a gun and one of you must die for the other to gain their freedom. How long without food and water would you last before succumbing to those needs and killing that one important person in your life?

When people start appearing in an emaciated and dehydrated state in the English countryside with incredible stories of confinement and murder, a massive investigation is launched. Enter Inspector Helen Grace. Like many damaged central characters, Grace utilizes her troubled background to take the lead on tracking down this vicarious serial killer.

The question arises whether the surviving twin is actually guilty of murder, or innocent based on circumstance. The surviving victims, suffering from PTSD and guilt struggle with the sidelong glances and nightmares that come every night. Meanwhile, Grace and her team race to discover the connection between the seemingly unrelated abductions and murders. The lynchpin to the whole ordeal will surprise the characters as well as the readers.

This book is built around a series of quick, short chapters that keep up a rapid pace for the reader. These short snippets are flashes of intense action and investigation. There is little time for the reader to rest. We move from scene to scene with relentless abandon. Because of this, the book was nearly impossible to put down.

The cast of characters seems to be very large for a relatively short book. Most of the characters we meet are simply quick snippets placed in the story to progress the plot. Sometimes, I find that can distract from the narrative, but these characters were meant to blink in and out of the story, building a case for Grace to follow.

Inspector Grace seemingly has as many secrets as the mastermind behind the kidnappings. Pieces of her past are slowly brought to the fore as a plot device to study the relationship between the abductor, the victims, and the investigative team. Her dark past makes her a flawed character who thinks outside the typical status quo of the other investigators. This can sometimes give her a step up on the rest of the team.

Frankly, this book was frightening. Innocent people are put into no-win situations that could result in their deaths. The most frightening part of this book is the idea that there could be real people out there who would like to copycat the actions in this novel. Arlidge writes this novel with horrifying realistic action by the protagonist and antagonist. The pace of this book adds to the terror. You can’t help but be a little scared by this premise.

M.J. Arlidge has written a spectacular and terrifying crime thriller with "Eeny Meeny" and the introduction of Inspector Helen Grace. His fast pace and character development will keep even the most casual reader engaged. Researching his Amazon page, I have discovered that there are two other books to the Helen Grace series. I’m hoping that the library system has it in their catalog. This book definitely hooked me on this new character and this new writer.

Book Review: The Wife, the Maid, & the Mistress

This book review originally appeared at: http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2015/10/its-novel-idea-wife-maid-mistress.html

Each year, the Lockport Public Library hosts a program titled, “One Book — One Community.” This program chooses a book for the patrons of the local libraries to read, and then follows up with a lecture and book signing by the author. This year’s selection is "The Wife, The Maid, & The Mistress" by Ariel Lawhon.

Lawhon’s book is a piece of historical fiction that centers around the real-life disappearance of Judge Joseph Crater in August, 1930. Crater was a New York City judge who was last seen leaving a restaurant on West 45th Street, and was considered the “Missingest Man in New York.”

Immediately, his wife, vacationing in Maine is the prime suspect. Stella Crater is a woman who expects a certain level of living and a certain anonymity. The constant questions by the authorities drives her away from the public eye, leading to a great deal of suspicion about her part in her husband’s disappearance.

Ritzi, a Broadway showgirl and Crater’s mistress, is one of the last to see the judge before his disappearance. In this story, she is present in the apartment when Crater is hauled away by abductors. Crater has left the young woman in a delicate condition which threatens her future as a showgirl. In addition, her secretive past bubbles to the surface and gives her an avenue to which she can hide.

Rounding out the title triumvirate is Maria Simon, the Craters' maid. In addition to this, she also works as a seamstress in a tailor’s shop. Her husband, Jude, is an investigator with the police department investigating the judge’s disappearance and probable death. Maria becomes acquainted with Ritzi when the maid agrees to help the showgirl with her costuming needs.

Secrets are kept over the next four decades until a dying Stella Crater decides to reveal the secret of her husband’s disappearance to Detective Simon, Maria’s widowed husband. Long after the deaths of the other women involved, the story behind Crater is imagined to be a far deeper plot than we could have imagined.

Ariel Lawhon weaves a tale through the factual history of one of our country’s greatest disappearances. This novel is a “what if” as seen through the mind of the author. There have been virtually no leads in the case over the last eighty-five years. Lawhon makes a provocative argument for a possible explanation through the eyes of three different, yet very sympathetic women.

The narrative is shared by the wife, maid and mistress, each giving their own unique view on the events that took place in the days before and after Judge Crater’s disappearance. Each piece unveiled by each woman builds the case for a solution to the mystery. These women's’ foibles develop over the course of the book, sometimes evoking sympathy with each woman. Other times, the reader hopes they each get their comeuppance.

The gist of this novel is not to determine what actually happened to Judge Joseph Crater on Aug. 6, 1930. It is to speculate what could have happened to the man. Ariel Lawhon devises a great story around the established facts and uses gaps in the record to create an entirely plausible solution to this conundrum after nine decades.

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon is a fantastic piece of historical fiction that keeps the reader turning the pages. Her prose is easy to follow and flows with equally relatable characters. If you’re ready for more historical fiction by a very talented writer, stay tuned for her follow up about the Hindenburg crash, Flight of Dreams. Find it at your local library in February, 2016.

The Lockport Library’s “One Book--One Community” author discussion will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 27th, at 6:30 p.m. The lecture will take place in the Community Room. Additionally, the library will be hosting a book discussion with this novel on Oct. 12th, at 6:30 in the Sawyer Room. If you have the time, these events are well worth the time. Hopefully, I’ll see some of you there.