Ghosts of Bergen County

February 22, 2016
A broken family, haunted by tragedy, attempts to start anew with disastrous results in Cann’s assured debut novel. Gil Ferko, a Manhattan venture capital firm executive, has relocated to New Jersey with his wife, Mary Beth, for a change of scenery after a horrific hit-and-run accident claimed the life of their baby daughter, Catherine. Unable to surmount the emotional devastation, Mary Beth has become a depressive recluse managed by high-dose medication. Though tortured by memories, she also becomes enchanted by visions of a little girl who begins appearing and speaking to her. Eager for some excitement and “to find a different way forward,” Gil reunites with Jen Yoder, a commodities trader, aspiring actress, and former high school classmate, but her heroin use becomes a bad influence on Gil, who also becomes a user. As he and Mary Beth drift apart, other complications ensue related to the accident that killed Catherine. Though a bit sluggish in the final sections, Cann’s novel is an impressive, accomplished effort, nuanced in its depiction of complex interpersonal drama and eerie elements of the supernatural.

April 15, 2016

In perfectly balanced prose, debut novelist Cann tells the story of Gil and Mary Ferko, who move to New Jersey's Bergen County as young parents and are devastated when infant daughter Catherine is killed in a hit-and-run accident. While Gil connects with bad-news Jen Yoder, an old classmate with vague acting ambitions who pulls him into heroin use, Mary Beth remains shut indoors. That Mary Beth spots the flickering image of a pigtailed girl and Jen once walked away after witnessing a man's death are factors tied together in an escalating mystery. VERDICT Absorbingly written, this will appeal to readers of literary fiction as well as high-end mystery.

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