Strange but True

Starred review from July 5, 2004
The world Searles (Boy Still Missing
) presents in his second novel is exquisitely odd yet instantly recognizable, as strange but true as the hidden life of one's next-door neighbor. The novel moves in unexpected directions throughout, most notably morphing from a family drama into a kind of mystery/thriller, but its steady gravitational pull—readers should expect to stay up late for this one—testifies to the solidity of its bedrock impressions, cast by an author with extraordinary powers of observation. Searles opens on the night that Melissa Moody, girlfriend to Ronnie Chase, who died five years earlier in a car crash after their high school prom, visits the Chases to tell Ronnie's brother, Philip, and his cantankerous mother that she's pregnant—with, she's sure, Ronnie's child. That revelation spins both Philip and his mother into some sleuthing, of Melissa's situation—could she somehow have saved Ronnie's sperm?—and into their own hearts, ravaged by Ronnie's death and its bitter aftermath, which includes Philip's recent unexplained return to his hometown of Radnor, Pa., from Manhattan. The story shuttles among various point of views and between past and present as Searles peels back layers of concealment to reveal the truths behind the turns in various people's fates, and behind Melissa's claim. Yet while readers will enjoy traveling to the heart of the mystery, what they'll cherish most in this accomplished novel are its startling real characters, with even the minor players—an ambitious Polish librarian; a lonely, aging gay pet owner—all perfectly crafted. Searle's novel should find a wide and grateful readership.

Part mystery, part suspense, this domestic drama is enhanced by Matt Godfrey's gift for cross-gender narration. Particularly convincing are Godfrey's renderings of Charlene, the grieving mother, and Melissa, the young, pregnant woman who claims she's the subject of a mysterious conception. Phillip, Charlene's son, is bestowed with a weary tone that conveys his frustration (he's sick of his job at Olive Garden) and foreshadows his dark secrets. Actually, just about everyone involved in this audiobook has a dark secret, and the reveals appear like labor pains in shortening intervals. As expected, the audiobook climaxes with the baby's birth, and the only mystery that remains is why it took 16 years to make an audiobook out of this gripping novel. R.W.S. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine