The Reckoning by Howard Owen

Suspense takes a place in my reading life only once or twice a year, so I like to save the space for a well-told story, with interesting characters, and a plot with believable twists and turns. Howard Owen has admirably fulfilled this task with his ninth novel. Seems as though I have some searches at local bookstores and, failing that, on Amazon ahead of me!

Jake James is 16, a cross country star, and seeking his first intimate relationship. He is the grandson of “Wash” James, failed candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia and scion of a wealthy family that owned a famous Virginia ham company. Jake’s father, George, runs the company now, and his past intrudes into the life of Jake and his friends.

The story lives in a backdrop of the Vietnam War and 9/11. George graduates from college one year after I did, so many of the events and characters are strikingly familiar to me. I lived through the national turmoil of the 60s and 70s, and Owen has recaptured those memories for me in amazing detail.

My major problem with the story is a curious episode at the end. Jake befriends a nine-year-old Guatemalan boy, who is the son of his aunt’s housekeeper. The novel is 2-1/2 pages too long to my tastes. I did some checking and some reviewers feel this ties up the novel with Jake becoming a little self-centered and more caring about others. However, I never really saw him as entirely selfish -- he was a typical teenager. I am much more interested in the evolving relationships between Wash and George and then George and Jake. So, I still think this ending was a bit too cute. Aside from that, I found a few sentences and references that gave me pause. Nevertheless, this is a page turner of the first order. 4-1/2 stars.

--Chiron, 2/11/11

Time Among the Dead by Thomas Rayfiel

Secrets in every vase, crevice, and corner of a centuries old “Great House” – Upton Hall – inhabited by a crusty old grandfather, nearing ninety, a grandson, who might prove either a gold digger or an empathetic young man, and the usual cast of faithful servants all told in a genuine Victorian voice, add up to a devilishly interesting tale.

William, the seventh Earl of Upton, records his last days -- and decades of memories -- in a journal supplied by Seabold, his grandson. Pretty girls from a neighboring farm, a school chum of Seabold’s, and an old boat all play roles in this unfolding saga of a time in England long gone.

Surprisingly, this novel deals with quite a few philosophical questions of the 21st century. Permanent Press has done it again, albeit Rafiel has several novels to his credit. This novel has not yet been released, but should come out shortly.

The only flaw is two or three sentences which seemed quite awkward. However, those may be corrected in the final version. A ripping good yarn, eh what? 4-1/2 stars

--Chiron, 5/31/10

Silence by Christopher Brookhouse

I never read a complete review before reading a novel, and I am glad I did not read any of the reviews of this fine story. If I had, I might have been misled.

Admittedly in two or three places in its 150 pages, I did have to pause to see who the omniscient narrator was talking about, but little else confused me. The italicized passages were clearly Harriet’s thoughts, and I will not give away any more than that.

Yankee stoicism rings loud and clear in this aptly named novel of the characters’ inability to communicate. So many times they creep to the edge, look over into the chasm below, but turn and leave without uttering a word. But that is not all. The novel has an air of mystery in the silences of people walking, driving, performing ordinary, and not so ordinary, everyday tasks.

Brookhouse has written lots of good character development along with his descriptions of places and events. 5 stars, even though I wanted more -- I will read more of his work.

--Chiron, 3/27/09