Lamentation

Starred review from August 25, 2014
Jay Porter, the narrator of this powerful novel set during a bitter New Hampshire winter, is drifting through life, stuck in his hometown, where he has a dead-end job sorting junk and a hopeless relationship with his ex-girlfriend and their toddler son. He’s marinating in sour anger that spills out at those who criticize his listless existence—largely because he realizes they’re right. When his junkie older brother, Chris, is suspected of murdering his partner in a computer recycling computer business, Jay is barely motivated to help; he doesn’t believe Chris’s statement that the hard drive of a discarded computer contained evidence of an evil conspiracy. It gradually becomes obvious, though, that local powerbrokers are panicked about something on the missing drive, so Jay has one last chance at salvation if he’s able to act. Clifford (Junkie Love) understands human potential for moral collapse and redemption, and his lean, gritty prose never lets characters or readers off the hook. Agent: Elizabeth Kracht, Kimberly Cameron & Assoc.

September 15, 2014

In the midst of a frigid winter in New Hampshire's north country, Jay Porter is trying to make ends meet in Ashton, the small town where he lived as a young child. Jay was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Concord after his parents were killed, their car careening off Lamentation Bridge, but he visited Ashton every weekend and moved back as soon as he could. Now his ex-girlfriend, their two-year-old son, and his drug-addicted older brother Chris all live there, so where else would Jay reside? After Chris's business partner goes missing and then Chris vanishes, Jay tries to track his brother down and clear his name. In the process, he uncovers secrets of the most powerful family in town and must face some of his own as well. VERDICT Clifford's fourth book (after Choice Cuts, Wake the Undertaker, and Junkie Love) paints a bleak but honest picture of northern New England. A taut thriller rendered in vivid prose, this book contains only a few surprises but builds a relentless, compelling momentum. Recommended for noir lovers and readers of novels set in New England.--Nancy H. Fontaine, Norwich P.L., VT

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