April 15, 1998
Tautly written and ever so frightening, Bausch's latest novel has all the qualities of an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Recently widowed Nora Michaelson is dealing with a teaching job she could happily live without while caring for an 11-year-old son set adrift by his father's death. When Edward Bishop (an African American neighbor a good deal older than Nora, but a compassionate friend to both Jason and his mother) begins receiving hate mail, it portends serious trouble. Yet in the end, the misery that awaits these three will be remarkably removed from this initial threat. Set in a Virginia town defended by Chief Investigator Shaw, the police officer's personal trials ultimately figure into a final equation that holds promises of redemption for Shaw, although no comforting answers for the courageous cast of characters Bausch so vividly represents. ((Reviewed April 15, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)
May 1, 1998
Bausch (Good Evening, Mr. and Mrs. America, LJ 8/96) is a widely admired writer of considerable talent. But he's off his mark in this tale of a family nearing bankruptcy, the death of the husband in an accident, and the terror visited upon his survivors when his "associates" come for the stolen smuggled goods he's hidden, reneging on his part of the deal. The plot is canned; the action, especially how two of the villains manage to do each other in, often strains credibility; and the characters seem to have wandered in variously from McCrumb, Pelecanos, and even Grisham novels. All that said, the writing itself is good, and the book is decidedly a page turner; in spite of (and perhaps even because of) its flaws, it's hard to put down. Surely not essential, but buy if the budget allows for Bausch fans and Grishamites.--Robert E. Brown, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, NY