Finding Casey

August 20, 2012
Characters from 2010's Solomon's Oak reappear in Mapson's engaging new novel. Glory Vigil is a happily married, middle-aged mother living in Santa Feâher adopted daughter, Juniper, is home from college for Thanksgiving, and Glory is unexpectedly expecting. Though Juniper is adjusting to her first serious relationship, she still wrestles with the loss of her sister, Casey, who disappeared years before Glory and husband Joseph took Juniper in. Elsewhere in New Mexico, Laurel Smith, fearing for the safety of her sick six-year-old daughter, Aspen, has just fled the farm where a charismatic charlatan dominates his followers with threats and religious brainwashing. As Juniper struggles with coming into her own as a young woman, and Laurel considers a life beyond the strictures of the farm, their tales intertwine in startling ways, leaving all parties irrevocably changed. Mapson paints a touching portrait of parallel lives, and while readers will likely spot the twist from a ways down the road, Juniper, Glory, and Laurel's stories are nevertheless moving. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the burnished New Mexican desert, Mapson's portrait of familial ties and personal discovery shouldn't be missed. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider.