The Secret of Raven Point

The time, 1943; the place, an Italian field hospital at the front; the characters, unforgettable as performed by Susie Berneis. She narrates this story of loss and healing with passion and poise. Juliet Dufresne, a 17-year-old American nurse, searches for her missing brother, Tucker, while treating patients wounded and traumatized by war. Dr. Henry Willard, a psychiatrist, studies those hurt and battle-fatigued, particularly Christopher Branaby (who served with Tucker) as he seeks to heal them. Berneis performs this complex story with inflected tones that match the emotions of each scene. Accents ranges from soft Southern vowels to hard New England cadences, each perfectly matched to the character. Berneis never misses a shift in action, drawing the listener inexorably into the story. M.B.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

September 30, 2013
Vanderbes’s (Easter Island) third novel explores sibling bonds and what it means to push oneself beyond limits. In 1943, two weeks after high school graduation, Juliet Dufresne signs up to be an Army nurse, hoping to find her missing brother, to whom she is exceptionally close. Serving at battlefield hospitals, she has to live up to enormous expectations, and she finds a well of compassion and strength she didn’t know she possessed. She begins working with Dr. Henry Willard, who pioneers new psychiatric techniques, including some pertaining to battle fatigue. One of their charges, a deserter named Christopher Barnaby, is suspected of attempting suicide and is up for court-martial. Yet he may be able to tell Juliet what happened to her brother, if she and Henry can excavate it from his psyche. Juliet and Henry find themselves drawing closer together, and making decisions that put their own careers and lives on the line, in order to help Barnaby. Juliet surprises herself with her capacity for growth and for maintaining her own integrity against seemingly insurmountable odds. The book does not shy away from the grotesque details of battle or the horrible decisions that ordinary people must make when faced with war’s extraordinary demands. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, WME Entertainment.