The Longest Night

October 5, 2015
Williams’s debut opens boldly with the story’s climax—an apparent accident at a government-run nuclear reactor—then moves back and forth through a young couple’s uneasy marriage to arrive at the fateful event. When Paul Collier takes an army posting in Idaho in the late 1950s to operate a nuclear reactor, he’s hoping for a career opportunity and stability for his young family. But he sees firsthand that the reactor is problematic and dangerous, and he immediately suspects that his superiors are not following protocol. Paul’s wife, Nat, a free-spirited Californian, tries to fit in with the conservative military-centered social life, while their marriage starts to unravel amid work stress, jealousy, boredom, loneliness, temptation, and immaturity. Master Sergeant Richards, Paul’s troublesome supervisor, and his scheming wife are central to their distress; Richards is demeaning to Paul and flirts audaciously with Nat, provoking Paul into a confrontation that has devastating consequences. Williams’s austere Idaho setting with small-town diners, jukeboxes, and cowboys is appealing , and her characters’ clothing, cars, food, and conventional gender roles provide a time stamp of the era. Although the narrative occasionally trudges along and Nat can be opaque, the simultaneous breakdown of nuclear reactor and marriage provides satisfying symmetry.

January 1, 2016

It's 1959, and Nat must move with her husband, Paul, and their two young girls to a small military town in Idaho where Paul has been stationed to oversee a nuclear reactor. But freethinker Nat has trouble making friends with the military wives, and Paul realizes the reactor has been compromised and is a threat to the community. When her husband gets deployed, Nat meets a rancher, Esrom, and is comforted by his kindness. The time they spend together makes Nat less lonely but creates rumors about their relationship. Once Paul returns, Paul, Nat, and Esrom are forced to make decisions that will alter the course of their lives and others in the community. Williams's debut novel is based on the true story of an explosion at a small nuclear reactor in Idaho. More than a historical retelling, this is a deep exploration of love, marriage, and trust. The lonely and desolate setting plays a key role in the narrative, while character development and growth is of less importance. VERDICT Overall, this is a great first novel and will be enjoyed by historical romance readers. Recommended for fans of M.L. Stedman and Santa Montefiore. [See Prepub Alert, 7/6/15.]--Kristen Calvert Nelson, Marion Cty. P.L. Syst., Ocala, FL

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2015
Inspired by a real-life nuclear accident in Idaho Falls in 1961, Williams' luminous debut explores the lead-up to the tragedy through the eyes of a young army specialist and his beautiful wife. Neither Paul Collier nor Nat fits in very well in their new home. Paul is dismayed to learn that the CR-1, the nuclear reactor he and several other men are in charge of, is in poor shape: the core is failing, and one of the reactor's rods is sticking, making adjustments not only difficult but perilous. Paul quickly realizes that his buffoonish supervisor has no interest in his concerns about the reactor, and a clash between them turns violent, resulting in Paul getting shipped off to another assignment for six months. Left behind with two young children and pregnant with a third, Nat tries to make friends with the prim-and-proper army wives, but she finds her deepest friendship with a handsome young Mormon cowboy who proves to be both a help and a bright spot in Nat's life, as well as a temptation. Williams expertly builds tension between Paul and Nat as the story progresses towards the inevitable nuclear tragedy in this utterly absorbing and richly rewarding novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)