A whodunnit that’s hefty, but worth it

This is a hefty book. When I first came across it, I wondered what whodunnit requires almost 500 pages (nearly double a ‘normal’ length novel). But as the novel begins to unfurl, one realises the length of the novel is partly because of the many protagonists, and many time periods. The current day event, 1975, is the disappearance of Barbara, a camper at Camp Emerson, which is sponsored by the powerful and affluent Van Laars family who seem to own most of the woods (this setting is in the Adirondacks). Barbara is not only one of the many campers – themselves mostly children of the privileged too – but the only child of the Van Laars. She is, however, the second child. Her elder brother, Bear, at 8 years old and before Barbara was born, had vanished and had never been found.

The flashbacks take place in the past during Bear’s life (1960s) and also before he was born (1950s). The timelines and protagonists are so many that some chapters begin not just with the name of the protagonist from whose perspective we are reading that chapter, but a list of timelines under the name:1950s, 1961, Winter 1973, June 1975, etc. (This is the first time I have seen such a complex heading for each chapter, but it helps the reader to piece all the threads and storylines together.) The disappearance of both children although in different years, takes place at the same event, the annual ‘Blackfly Good-By’, a pretentiously named summer week long revel for extremely selective guests of the Van Laars, in their (probably not intentionally) ironically named Self-Reliance house/estate. (It was named Self-Reliance because supposedly every part of the house was brought in from Switzerland, roads were laid for this purpose, and the house assembled on site.)

Into this mystery of the missing Barbara, we have many vested parties. The parents of Bear and Barbara, Peter Van Laar, dominating and cold; his wife, Alice, married at eighteen, unloved and pushed to the point of insanity – a mother who cannot stop grieving the loss of her son; we have the Hewitts, Vic, the one time groundskeeper, but now his memory has failed him, his daughter Tessie Jo (TJ) who has taken over all his duties and authority; Tracy, Barbara’s best and only friend in the summer camp; Louise, the camp counsellor of the pod Barbara was with; Louise’s second in command, Annabel, the 17-year-old counsellor-in-training and also a child of the upper-crust set; Louise’s cheating, upper-crust boyfriend, John Paul McLellan, of the rich McLellan family who are thought to inherit the Van Laar’s business since the Van Laars now have no son left; Jason Sluiter, a convicted criminal who has ancestry in this area; Lee Towson, one of the camp staff with a record for statutory rape; the various locals who were involved in the first disappearance and their children who are now all grown up; and Judyta, one of the investigators on the case. There are many more side characters and supporting cast. Hence, the length of the novel – so many characters to hear from in order to piece together both the mystery from the past, and to tackle the current emergency.

Strangely, the size of the cast is not overwhelming. And this is despite the fact not all of them have their own distinctive voices – the reader mainly knows whose perspective the story is coming from, from the title of each chapter and from context. This indicates Liz Moore is a good storyteller at one level, if her readers are able to easily keep track of so many characters and comprehend how their lives and agendas intersect. There’s not much effort needed to keep track as one is reading; Moore explains and reiterates relationships and links very nicely, so that concentration demands are minimal, making this a swift, fun, page-turning read. There are a lot of clues scattered all around of course, piece of information trickling in from this source and that, all adding up to the bigger picture.

Moore also gives us a good sense of how women stood in those times and in that place – not very highly, in fact, whether of upper or lower classes. The wives of the Van Laars are all expected to be silent and accommodating, trophies on display, but not decision makers. Class is also a big theme in this novel; Louise is treated badly by her 4-year boyfriend, John Paul McLellan, who keeps pledging his commitment to her and clearly is jealous and possessive, but also does not seem to intend to make good on his promises to her because he regards her as being of a lower class and therefore not suitable for his family and level. Also, those of upper classes are given a lot of deference and leeway by authorities – police, investigators, etc, who have to handle them with kid gloves. That said, although the ‘locals’ also have to be deferential to their employers, that does not necessarily mean the employers are beloved, only untouchably distant in their immense privileges.

In one of the Blackfly Good-by parties, Moore gives a lovely illustration of how the class system works. The annual event takes place from a Saturday to a Saturday, and there is an annual farewell dinner, a clambake on the beach, on the last night. On one of these evenings, Peter Van Laar, host, stands up and calls for everyone’s attention, and announces, unplanned, the invitation for everyone to stay an extra day, don’t leave the next day.

“He looked around then, as if only just realizing the implications of his idea. ‘Warren!’ – he called – the name of the cook in those days. ‘Warren, we have enough food for tomorrow, haven’t we?’ Hesitantly, Warren nodded. It would mean more trips to town, Alice knew; it would mean a change in the plans for all the temporary staff who had initially been contacted to work just the week. But Peter had already made his decision. The guests had already cheered” (p318-9).

The arrogance and obliviousness of the rich and powerful to the convenience of their servants is underlined further, when into this situation, Delphine, sister in law to Peter Van Laar, suddenly speaks up, and says,

“Warren, did you have other plans?” (p319).

Peter Van Laar senior, father to the host, addresses the group as a whole:

“Warren will be happy to accommodate you all’, he said. ‘As will we. Thank you for your concern, Mrs Barlow’” (p319).

The highhandedness and the cold snub are very well illustrated.

These episodes are lovely and telling, but the strength of the novel is in plotline and pacing of the story. This long novel effortlessly engages, and holds the narrative and suspense well and consistently throughout. I will be checking out other novels by this author, in the hope that they may be quite as readable too!

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