Month: January 2009

Lewis Robinson has written an appropriately enigmatic novel about a coastal Maine family: young Bennie eventually comes to understand his intensely guarded older brother, who comes under suspicion following  the  mysterious disappearance in a blizzard of  one of the contestants in  a paint gun fight.

Water dog is a nickname for their pet  Labrador  as well as  the father and three children of this family, the latter trying to heal themselves of the sudden loss by heart attack  of their much loved father and biathlon coach. The title fits the setting on the shore of the wintry ocean from and around which so many of the inhabitants make their living.

With the help of friends and despite the malign intentions of an invidious small town cop,  the three young people make progress toward maturity.

British novelist Martin Currick gives us a cleverly plotted mystery disguised as an autobiography.  Unless we take note of a phrase in the opening paragraph, “a man going by the name of” we do not recognize it as a mystery until the end is near.

The man going by the name of James Watson Bolsover is a self-educated mechanical engineer who has read widely not only in his field but also in literature, physics and philosophy.  His recollections tell us the intimate and touching story of the delicate, dark-haired, passionate but somewhat obsessive  girl whom he loved passionately until her death after twenty years of married life.

We see that his is an unusually sensitive, creative and inquiring mind and we share his insights into human interactions and the role that chance plays in their destinies.