True Stories at the Smoky View

April 15, 2016

A few too many themes muddle this debut novel by a former Johns Hopkins University librarian, but the library-related story and the academic art librarian main character Vrai (short for Vraiment, French for "really") should resonate with readers. Brushing on dark subjects such as death, abandonment, and betrayal, the story begins with Vrai, an empty nester in her 40s, trying to puzzle out the truth about the recent death of her estranged friend and library colleague, Skip. After traveling from Baltimore to the small Tennessee town where she and Skip grew up--still grieving the loss of her childhood friend Laramie, who was murdered with her husband years earlier--she has the unexpected chance to bond with Laramie's orphaned ten-year-old son Jonathan and gain redemption by researching Skip's and another colleague's more recent deaths. VERDICT With intricate story lines involving murder, library research, road trips, and Vrai's and Jonathan's quest for justice, and motifs including motherhood, love, marriage, betrayal, and true friendship, there is something for everyone in this light/dark Southern novel by a writer to watch.--Laurie Cavanaugh, Holmes P.L., Halifax, MA

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