Living Dead Girl

February 25, 2002
Goldberg's second novel (after 2000's Fake Liar Cheat) comes within a spit-and-a-holler of success but, alas, it's short on spit and overlong on holler. The tale could be glibly described as Hitchcockian, but it has more of the feel and texture of a European film—one that takes its audience from obscurity to obfuscation without apology and closes with an abiding chill. Thankfully, unlike a European film, the author makes everything clear by the end. Paul Luden, a professor of anthropology, and his adoring wife, Molly, had a child they worshipped. They bought a cabin on Granite Lake in Washington state and were prepared to live a bucolic existence. But a serpent in their Eden first killed their daughter, then drove them to the brink of madness. Both feeling responsible for their daughter's death, they separated. Later, Paul is back on his feet and is dating a 19-year-old student, Ginny, who, like his estranged wife, loves him enough to make him crazy. When he receives a call from a friend that Molly has disappeared from their place at the lake, he returns to the cabin and to a blizzard of bad memories about the death of their child and the breakup of their marriage. The reader, like Paul, soon wonders if Paul has actually killed Molly in the midst of some kind of fugue fit. While this is engrossing and atmospheric stuff, it is too painfully drawn out. That said, Goldberg shows plenty of promise and may yet become a leading suspense writer. Agent, Jennie Dunham. (May 20)FYI:The author's first novel,
Fake Liar Cheat, was optioned by Miramax.

April 1, 2002
When narrator Paul Luden travels to his isolated summer lake house with his 19-year-old girlfriend, he discovers that his estranged wife has apparently gone missing. Because Paul has a suspect history (his daughter died at the house under strange circumstances), he is arrested. Paul subsequently unravels mentally, his relationship breaks up, he falls into self-destructive trances, and he ultimately discovers the truth about his wife. The author of Fake Liar Cheat has produced an evocative read full of seductive prose, sharply focused characters, and a microcosmic world fraught with human sadness.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2002
Goldberg's second novel is both a page-turner and a complex study of human relationships. The story is told from the point of view of thirtyish anthropology professor Paul Luden, an unreliable narrator who often contradicts his earlier statements with phrases beginning, "Here's the truth." When a former neighbor calls to say Luden's ex-wife, Molly, is missing, the professor travels from Los Angeles to Washington State. Oddly, he brings along his 19-year-old girlfriend (and student), Ginny, whose pierced navel and extra finger both fascinate and repel him. Goldberg skillfully interweaves the contemporary mystery with backstory explaining Luden's failed marriage and the death of his child; past and present collide when the sheriff, who blamed Luden for the death of his young daughter, now suspects him of causing the disappearance of his wife. Although not the most endearing protagonist, Luden engenders enough sympathy so that most readers will hope he is innocent. Fans of psychological thrillers will find a lot to like here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)