I’ve got some great “thriller” stories for you, but they have a long, slow buildup with moments of tension.
“All the Colors of the Dark” by Chris Whitaker is a book to sink your teeth into, with adventure, mystery, and a couple of love stories, and at almost 600 pages, it involves the reader in the complicated lives of its characters.
In 1975 in Missouri, a one-eyed boy called Patch has a best friend, a girl named Saint; they’re both 13. One day he rescues a girl from a would-be attacker, but he then disappears. He isn’t the only one; several girls have disappeared from the area in recent years. Saint goes in search of him, her adventure told in some lovely writing: “Trees swayed as Saint parted the cover of a willow to its roots rising like hands reaching up, preaching caution at each step. She moved past the quake of aspens, white trunks thin and strong and pocked dark. An old metal sign rusted through, the letters too faint. The grove thickened. She smelled dust and Christmas.”
Patch is rescued, but he has memories of a girl who shared his captivity. It was always dark, so he never saw her, and others think he made her up. He doesn’t even know if she survived, but he dedicates his life to finding her and other lost girls, using his uncanny ability to paint pictures of girls he’s never seen. Is his kidnapper still alive? Is the girl alive? Was she real, or just his way of coping with being alone in the dark?
This coming-of-age tale of enduring love and friendship follows Patch and Saint for three decades, so the reader will get to know the characters well enough that the end is very moving. So nicely written.
“The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore has a complex plot, ghost stories, shifting timelines … oh, and a serial killer.
Some 12- and 13-year-olds are staying at Camp Emerson in the Adirondacks in 1975 when a girl camper goes missing. She is Barbara, the daughter of the wealthy owners of the campground and nearby forest preserve. The family’s background is complicated. Barbara’s brother, 8-year-old Bear, had also gone missing back in 1961, in the same area, and was never found.
Where’s Barbara? Was she kidnapped? Is there a link to her missing brother? What’s with all the secrets, lies, and betrayals? Camp personnel, other campers, Barbara’s substance-abusing mother and cold-as-ice father — any of them and others could be involved in Barbara’s disappearance. And the convicted serial killer known to have haunted these woods has escaped from prison.
The author writes well, making me feel like I was in the woods. When one girl goes looking for Barbara in the forest by herself, we’re told, “She doesn’t even have a watch. Later, she will understand how foolish she was, how clearly disrespectful of those woods — to think she could enter them so cavalierly, without a watch or compass, without long pants or even water, disregarding every single thing … painstakingly taught them.”
It’s pretty non-put-downable and has a satisfying ending with all mysteries solved. At almost 480 pages, it’s no slouch in the get-involved-with-the-characters department. Wow! It’s quite a journey.
“Camino Ghosts” is John Grisham’s third book set on Camino Island in Florida, featuring bookstore owner Bruce Cable and author Mercer Mann. You do not need to read the previous books to enjoy this one.
Mercer’s last book was a bestseller, but she’s having trouble coming up with a new book plot. Along comes Bruce, giving her an idea to write about: the story of a nearby barrier island where runaway slaves found freedom. The island is part of Florida, which was not a slave state, but close to Georgia, which was. So runaway slaves from Georgia had formed a small community there. A local woman named Lovely, now 80, wrote about the island in her memoir, of how her slave ancestors had been part of that community. She’s the last survivor and says she owns the island, but some real estate developers say there’s no proof she owns it, and they claim the right to build a casino on it. They’ll even pay her big bucks, but she won’t sell. Why? “It’s hallowed ground. Her people are buried there.” A retired lawyer takes on Lovely’s case.
Lovely’s ancestor Nalla “was an African witch doctor, some sort of voodoo priestess.” We get flashbacks to the story of Nalla in Africa in 1760, when she was brutally taken by slave hunters and shipped to America. The ship was wrecked on the barrier island, and Nalla and the other African survivors were rescued by the runaway slaves there. Nalla has cursed the island: white people who visit there for nefarious purposes disappear or die — from disease, venomous snakes, panthers, and more.
Nalla’s story is the best part of the book and reminds me of “Roots.” A Grisham is always a good read.
“Eruption” belongs in the “techno-thriller” genre. The book was partially written by the late Michael Crichton and finished by the ubiquitous James Patterson. That’s a story in itself.
The setup and premise are all Crichton, sort of a cross between “Jurassic Park” and “The Andromeda Strain,” but instead of dinosaurs and alien life forms, we have volcanoes and a human-created problem that could end all life on Earth. In Hilo, Hawaii, nature is giving off ominous signals. Plant biologist Rachel notices that a strange phenomenon is killing plants in the botanical gardens. Geologist Mac knows from the recent tremors that Mauna Loa will erupt very soon. Signs indicate that it could be “the biggest eruption in a century.” The press and the local authorities want him to predict when and where the eruption will occur. He tells them, “Volcanoes are a little — or a lot — like wild animals. It’s different and dangerous to predict how they’ll behave.” As local authorities work to alert people, the military throws a wrench into the works: Can you build a wall to hold back the lava flow? While some work to save the local community, others are secretly working to save the world.
After Crichton’s death in 2008, his wife discovered that he had done extensive research on volcanoes and had already started this book. She didn’t want the work to be in vain, so she waited for a writer she felt could finish the story. Eventually she turned to Patterson, who’s worked in several genres. I’m not sure one can tell where Patterson’s fingerprints lie in the manuscript, but the ending seems forced, and some of the “science” is head-scratching; one really has to suspend disbelief. Still, it’s a fun ride, as all of Crichton’s works are.
Happy reading!
Mary Louise Ruehr is a books columnist for The Portager. Her One for the Books column previously appeared in the Record-Courier, where she was an editor.