Darkness Peering by
Alice Blanchard
pbk out February 00
(Bantam)
at £9.99
One collection of short stories published, several prizes and awards already won and yes, "an extraordinary debut novel." Alice Blanchard clearly has the kind of talent for writing which cannot fail to ensure her success with this book and with the others she will write in the future.
Flowering Dogwood, Maine, is the small New England town where the story takes place. A lovely name for a place where the air may be fragrant with the scent of azaleas and sweet william, where balsam firs release "their aromatic fragrance from sap blisters on their trunks" but where the trees, dense black woods of white pine and birch crowd to the very edges of the town, enclose the farms, houses, buildings in a claustrophobic and threatening atmosphere. Police Chief Nathan Storrow brought his family here to get away from city violence but is faced with very nasty incidents including the particularly senseless and horrific murder of a fourteen year old Downes Syndrome girl, a shy, sweet girl. And his son Billy is, he suspects, with others of the youths who hang around evenings, smoking pot and getting drunk, involved in the crime. But the crime is never solved.
Now, eighteen years later, his daughter has followed in her father's footsteps. The discovery of the dead body of the girl's father, whose family was destroyed by the crime, prompts Detective Rachel Storrow to re-open the case. Too young at the time to understand much of the case, she probes where others, including Lieutenant Jim McKissack who worked with her father in the previous investigation, would be content to let sleeping dogs lie. A young woman is abducted and there are fears for the safety of her younger sister. Detective Storrow knows, all too well, that Flowering Dogwood is no small town haven of security. There are people with guilty secrets and some with a thirst for vengeance determined to destroy others. The place is both beautiful and menacing.
This is a riveting story, complex in structure and told with skill and a beautiful eye for detail. The people in the story are believable and psychologically sound. In showing reasons for actions, motives for crimes, Ms Blachard subtly focuses on issues which cause concern today while never letting up on the essentials of an entertaining crime novel; doubt, fear and suspense. Treat your first editions of
"Darkness Peering" with care,,, and keep them safe.
Darkness Peering by
Alice Blanchard