Pun Salad

Well, this finishes off my mini-project to read the New York Times Best Mystery Novels of 2021. It was the only book on that list that the Portsmouth (NH) Library didn't own, so I splurged on a used copy at Amazon ($6.08).

The usual clichés apply: Wish I had liked it better. Not my cup of tea. Your mileage may vary.

The author is Willa C. Richards. The book My Antonia is referenced at one point, so I'm wondering if that middle initial stands for "Cather"? Maybe.

The book is narrated by Peg, member of a very dysfunctional family. It is set in Milwaukee, and jumps (mostly) between two timelines, one in 1991, the other in 2019. What makes this book a "mystery" is the 1991 disappearance of Dee, Peg's sister. This happens during a whirlwind of bad decisions involving infidelity, kinky sex, copious substance use, and firework displays.

As a backdrop, Dee's disappearance is overwhelmed by another horror: 1991 Milwaukee is also the setting of the discovery of Jeffrey Dahmer's string of grisly murders. (The Milwaukee cops are not only preoccupied with Dahmer, they are also defensive about their ineffective and corrupt behavior.)

In 2019, Dee's trail is colder than ever, but the family is driven to hire a very expensive psychic. Who (eventually) presents his theory of the case, spurred by an object Dee once owned. Peg is more broken than ever.

Sample of Ms. Richards' prose as Peg and Dee watch that 1991 fireworks display:

The first firework was a ghoulish green that turned us both fluorescent. I imagined we were divers swimming in a bioluminescent bay. The night felt heavy anyway, like water pressure bearing down on us. I imagined we were anywhere but Milwaukee. I didn't know what to say to Dee, so I started making promises.

Fairly or unfairly, I think of this as "Look, Ma, I'm writing!" style.