Blame

Hillary Huber's throaty voice and sarcastic undertones convey the character of young college professor Patsy MacLemoore. Patsy careens between brilliant teaching and blurry alcohol binges and blackouts. One night she wakes up in a drunk tank and learns she swooped into her driveway, accidentally killing two Jehovah Witnesses, a mother and daughter. Both narrator and author keep to a solid pace as they trace Patsy's growth during two years of prison--then her release, remorse, redemption, and, much later, a startling revelation. Detailed sensory descriptions of Patsy's life in Altadena Prison make convincing the story's contrasting realities. Huber's on-target portrayals of minor characters and her snappy rendition of spicy dialogue also contribute to the compelling listening. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Starred review from May 18, 2009
In this gripping tale, Huneven charts the parameters of guilt and how a young, wisecracking intellectual becomes a shadow of her former self. Patsy MacLemoore, a boozy history professor, is helping her boyfriend, Brice, take care of his niece, Joey, whose mother is undergoing cancer treatment. But when Patsy goes on a bender and emerges from a drunken blackout in jail, she learns she’s accused of having run down a mother and daughter in her driveway. After her conviction, Patsy transforms from free spirit into a convict, and Huneven deftly underscores the bizarre trajectory Patsy’s life has taken. In a prison AA group, Patsy seeks redemption and meaning; she also develops a relationship with the man whose wife and daughter she killed and helps put his son through school, stays the course after her release and maintains a friendship with Brice and Joey. Brilliant observations, excellent characters, spiffy dialogue and a clever plot keep readers hooked, and the final twist turns Patsy’s new life on its ear. Huneven’s exploration of misdeeds real and imagined is humane, insightful and beautiful.