Chasing Fireflies

April 2, 2007
In his fifth novel, Martin (Maggie
; When Crickets Cry
) offers the same brand of sentimental Southern storytelling that has endeared him to readers. Just before T-boning her Impala into a train, a woman on a suicide run kicks her horrifically abused little boy, known only as Snoot—or to the state, John Doe 117—out of the car. Chase Walker, a reporter for the Brunswick Daily in Glen County, Ga., is assigned to follow up on the boy, whose abandonment mirrors Chase's own haunted past. The little boy, apparently mute, is an artistic prodigy who excels at chess and quickly works his way into Chase's heart. Martin's strength is in his memorable characters, especially Uncle Willie, whose fresh quips ("as out of place in South Georgia as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs"), penchant for Krispy Kreme doughnuts and mysterious past keep readers engrossed. Here, as in some of his other novels, Martin can't resist piling on unnecessary tragedies; his characters and their issues are enough to keep the pages turning. Although the plot needs fine-tuning, Martin's prose is lovely, and the flashback parallel stories of a grown man abandoned as a child and the neglected boy will ensure readers keep the Kleenex handy.

Andrew Peterson's mellow vocal personality enhances his narration of this warm drama, complete with a well-performed multiplicity of quirky characters. The story centers around Snoot, a mute autistic boy whose mother kicked him out of the car just before she committed suicide by running it into a train. Peterson uses vocal sounds and descriptions of hand gestures to portray Snoot's high intelligence--he plays chess--and artistic ability. His depiction of Chase Walker, a news reporter who is intrigued by Snoot's unfolding story, is performed with empathy and sensitivity. As the emotional pitch ratchets up with the plot, Peterson perfectly renders a believable story the listener won't soon forget. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine