At the Water's Edge

March 23, 2015
Gruenâs (Water for Elephants) riveting fifth novel follows Philadelphia socialite Madeline Hyde; her husband, Ellis; and his best friend, Hank, on a quest to Loch Ness in January 1945 as they seek proof of the legendary monster, which Ellisâs father allegedly photographed 13 years earlier. Once the trio is ensconced in the tiny village of Drumnadrochit, Hank and Ellis begin disappearing for days at a time, leaving Maddie alone back at the inn with no ration card, no practical skills, and no emergency gear. She soon bonds with the localsâeven Angus, the innâs brooding, standoffish ownerâand her newfound friendships help her cope with household chores and air raids alike. As the days drag on, Maddie begins to uncover truths about her family, as well as secrets about Ellis, that force her to reimagine her entire life as she knows it. A slow start gives way to mystery upon mystery, building to a gripping climax. Though some aspects, particularly an ambiguous brush with the supernatural, are a little pedestrian, Gruenâs beautiful setting and deeply sympathetic characters ensure a memorable read for new and returning fans alike.

January 15, 2015
Three spoiled brats from Philadelphia go to Scotland to look for the Loch Ness monster in the middle of World War II."I pointed out, as gently as I could, what I'd hoped was obvious: that it made no sense whatsoever to throw ourselves into the middle of an ocean crawling with U-boats on a quest to find a monster that probably didn't even exist," explains Maddie Hyde as she embarks on that very journey with her husband and their best friend. If only she could have gotten this across to Gruen (Ape House, 2010, etc.), who is not likely to replicate the success of the best-selling Water for Elephants (2006) with this silly novel. Unlike the other brave boys of their generation, Ellis and Hank are not off fighting Hitler; they are 4-F due to color blindness and flat feet, respectively. Instead of hanging around town being sneered at by their friends and family, they scoop up Maddie and take off for Scotland, where their dubious plan is to redeem the reputation of Ellis' father, who supposedly faked a sighting of Nessie a decade earlier, by this time really finding the monster. After a gruesome trip through the Battle of the Atlantic, they arrive at the tiny village of Drumnadrochit, where they take rooms at a run-down public house run by a crew from Central Casting: a gruff, wild-looking innkeeper, a beautiful red-haired barmaid, etc. While Ellis and Hank spend their days getting wildly drunk and monster-hunting, Maddie befriends the locals and learns to make a bed and mash potatoes. Various types of forbidden love, deception and skullduggery ensue. Gruen's handling of air raids, food rations, sad telegrams and reports from the front makes the thinness of the story's premise all the more awkward. At heart, this is an unlikely romance novel. A little too unlikely.

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February 15, 2015
Lacking a strong cast of sympathetic protagonists, Gruen's latest is slightly off target. Though she combines historical fiction, romance, and fable to good effect, and her narrative description is often sublime, a cast of extremely unlikable main characters prohibits the author from scoring the literary bull's-eye she achieved in Water for Elephants (1992). In 1945, three admittedly spoiled brats, who humiliated themselves and their families on the social circuit, take off for a lark in the Scottish Highlands. While hunting for the elusive Loch Ness monster as a way of redeeming themselves and their fortunes, married Maddie and Ellis and perennial sidekick Hank are also faced with the daunting task of sorting out their own issues, including their own unresolved love triangle. As Maddie connects with the environment and the locals, her self-awareness deepens, while Ellis and Hank seem to regress. Though the waning days of WWII initially seem like a strange backdrop for this tale, as Maddie shows signs of emotional growth, it begins to make more sense as an effective narrative counterpoint. Though flawed, this ambitious novel is a natural for the book-club set.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Since she scored an undisputed literary and best-selling bull's-eye with Water for Elephants, anything Gruen writes is destined to fly off the shelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)