Faith: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh

I was sent an advanced reader copy of this book, for review purposes, by the Amazon Vine program.

I read early reviews of this book comparing it to the books of Jodi Piccoult, since I really enjoy her books, I thought I might also enjoy this one and I was right.  Although, it was a little slow going in the second and third chapter, once she started getting to the meat of the story, it all came together and really kept me intrigued and wanting to read more.

"Faith: A Novel" delves into the story behind the priest molestation scandal of the early 2000's.  This is the story of Father Arthur, one of the many priests who found himself ousted from his post after an accusation that he molested a child.  The story is told by his sister, Sheila, the one member of his family who opted out of their Catholic faith and is considered somewhat of the black sheep.  Despite this, her older brother, the priest, never turned his back on her and they stayed close.  Through the course of the book, Sheila shares what she learned about her own family, a family she really knew little of, in the months following the accusation.  While she chooses to stand by Arthur faithfully, her brother Mike instantly chooses to believe the allegations.  The truth is much deeper than any could know and Sheila finally uncovers it as she learns more and more about her own family.

There is always more to any story than meets the eye, and much like the books by Jodi Piccoult, that's what Haigh is getting at in this book.  While the press focused on the top layer of the story, this book examines the "what if" behind the stories.  While this book is fiction, it does make me wonder more about the stories of those affected by this scandal, on both sides of the story.  This is the story of a family changed forever, and of a faith changed forever.
f

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

This book started a little slow for me, but by the end of the first chapter I was totally absorbed. A Reliable Wife is the story of two people, Ralph Truitt & Catherine Land, who are very different and yet so much the same. It is the story of how you so often find what you are looking for when you are looking for something else entirely; of how we rarely really know ourselves, let alone what we are looking for, or what we want.

Catherine Land is a woman who believes she is about beginnings and endings. She is looking for the ending to her story, with a feeling that there is no way that the middle could offer anything worthwhile. It's 1907 and she's in Chicago and answers a personal ad placed by Ralph Truitt, a wealthy businessman from Wisconsin, looking for a reliable wife. She replies that she is a simple and honest woman. Yet, she is anything but.

Ralph is looking for a reliable wife, but that's not really all he's looking for. He has a purpose in wanting a wife; a plan. Then again Catherine has a plan of her own; a plan to end up a wealthy widow. But, there's more to her story too than meets the eye.

Ralph has lost much in his life; the only woman he ever loved cheated on him and left him with a son that wasn't his. Eventually, he drove that son away out of hatred for the mother. Ralph wants a second chance, a second chance with his son, a second chance at life, a second chance at a legacy of his own. He figures if he has a new wife, his son will return. He sends Catherine to find his son and bring him back home.

The story twists and turns and even as I found the story going in the direction my mind wondered if it might go, I was still surprised that it went there, surprised at how it got there, surprised at just how much I felt for these people. Catherine and Ralph become more than just characters in a book, they become real people that you feel for and hope for and want happy endings for. As you read, you can't help but understand how each of them got to this point in their lives, and made the choices they made. You understand why they made these choices, and your heart breaks for them; at least mine did. I yearned for their happiness as much as they wanted it themselves.

Robert Goolrick is a powerful story teller and is amazing at character building. I'll be looking for his other books and hoping that this is something he does in each one.

Fear Itself - by Jonathan Nasaw

I will admit, Jonathan Nasaw is quickly climbing the ranks as one of my favorite fiction writers. I've always enjoyed a good thriller and he writes them well.

This particular novel takes us into the mind of a serial killer (don't they all?) who happens to be have an issue with phobias. His greatest fear is boredom (or the "blind rat" as his grandfather called it) and the best way he'd found to stave off his boredom is to prey on other people's fears. Find out what their greatest fear is and then taunt them with it and watch them squirm. The problem is that "flooding" someone with a phobia with the thing of their fears is often the fastest way to cure them. Once he's flooded them and they are no longer afraid, he's bored again so the only thing left to do is kill them.

On the other end of the scale is E.L Pender, a retiring FBI agent who was introduced in Nasaw's first book (The Girls He Adored). You can't help but like Pender when you read Nasaw's books. At this point in his life, he's ready to retire. He's all but handed in his gun and has headed to the West coast for a week of gold before he does just that. The lady chosen to take over for him has opened a letter (and a can of worms) on his last day that describes how one woman believes that her friends with phobias are being killed off one by one. Pender, being the helpful soul that he is, decides to look up the woman while he's on the West Coast. One thing leads to another and he finds himself up to his armpits in trouble and fear.

As the body count goes up, you keep turning pages to see what will happen next.

Nasaw typically writes his stories in a way that the reader knows who the bad guy is and is seeing the story as much from his (or her) point of view as from the good guy or the victim. It's at times frightening, disgusting and even humorous, but always an enjoyable read.

New Review: The Soloist by Steve Lopez