Review by Booklist Review
Following the murder of a child he tutored, Henry Dees flees Tower Hill, Indiana, for Mt. Gilead, Illinois, in 1972, attempting to escape his grief and shame, and linking the two towns forever. Gossip festers with the sudden departure and new arrival of this strange man, but an unlikely friendship with Mt. Gilead spinster Edith Green gives Henry hope of finally belonging. As their relationship deepens, the plot thickens as to the Tower Hill child's murder and what Henry is not telling authorities. Via multiple points of view, Martin's follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Bright Forever (2005), casts an in-depth picture of both towns and their inhabitants. Unsettling yet compelling, the story is driven by themes of gossip, shame, and loneliness. While the main characters are often unlikable, readers will find a progressively deeper understanding of and compassion for them. Chapters written from the point of view of the townspeople add interest and depth, contributing to an overall engrossing reading experience for fans of noir literary mysteries.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Martin picks up the thread from his 2005 novel, The Bright Forever, about the killing of a nine-year-old named Katie Mackey, in his subtle latest. In 1972, mathematics teacher Henry Dees disappears from small-town Tower Hill, Ind., after townspeople come to believe he helped a convicted murderer kill Katie, who was his student. He shows up in Mt. Gilead, Ill., where he rents a room from Edith Green, a lonely woman who impulsively promised a large gift from her recently deceased father's estate to the town library. These two awkward outsiders begin a romance, which annoys Edith's would-be suitor, Bertie Squiggs, and leads to questions about where Henry came from. When Bertie, a tow truck driver, happens to be in Tower Hill delivering a Mustang, he learns the police are looking for Henry. As revelations in Tower Hill raise the stakes, Henry and Edith get engaged and Bertie wrestles with whether to informthe police of Henry's whereabouts. Martin's slow-burn mystery runs on reflective character work and lucid prose, and he keeps the reader guessing right up to the end. This is one to savor. Agent: Gail Hochman: Brandt & Hochman Assoc. (Mar.)
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