I had actually never heard of McMahon before, but the Cincinnati Public Library suggested it when I was on Overdrive searching for new books, so I decided to give it a whirl. So far, the basic problem is that there is a killer (Neptune) who is kidnapping women in the 1980's in idyllic Brighton Falls, Connecticut. He cuts off their hands and leaves them in a very public place before strangling the women and disposing of their bodies five days later. The storyline cuts back and forth between the 80's and present day, when the main character, Reggie, discovers that her mother is still alive. Her mother had been one of Neptune's victims and her hand was discovered but never the rest of her body. Everyone assumed her mother was dead since other victims had been recovered. But Reggie's world is turned upside-down when she gets a phone call that her mother has been found. Alive.
Reggie is a unique, well-developed character. She has grown up to become a successful architect, renowned for her work incorporating natural elements into the design. McMahon does a nice job showing us Reggie's friends, interests, and aspirations through methods of both direct and indirect characterization. One good example of indirect characterization comes from a line her "boyfriend" Len says about her, "It isn't normal for a successful adult to be able to fit everything they own in the back of a pickup truck." We can infer that material possessions aren't important to Reggie, even though she financially could afford them. I like how the author jumps back and forth between middle school Reggie in the 80s and the adult Reggie. The middle school Reggie seems unpopular and questioning of herself; the adult Reggie seems like she has blossomed into a more confident women.
Reggie is a strong adult character and at this point in the plot, it seems like she is going to be the one to take care of her mother, reverse of the typical mother-daughter relationship. In some ways, it reminds me of a show I started watching last year, Nashville. Juliette Barnes, played by Hayden Panettiere, had to grow up too fast because her mother wasn't around (for different reasons than in the book) but the mother came back into her life later and Juliette ended up taking care of her, kind of like Reggie and her mother. In this clip from Nashville, you can see Juliette is forced to send her mom to rehab because she is abusing drugs. Obviously the circumstances are not the same, but there is a connection in the reversed parent/child roles. (Please forgive the Spanish subtitles...I couldn't find a version without subtitles).
Does this make you want to watch Nashville? Wednesday nights...I can't wait for the new season to start! (And to find out what happens now that Reggie's mother is back in The One I Left Behind).
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