If someone told you his pet dog was the only witness to his wife’s mysterious death and he was going to teach it to talk so it could tell him the secrets he wanted to know, what would you think?

So begins Carolyn Parkhurst’s enchanting novel of love, sacrifice and human darkness. But the quirks don’t stop there. There’s a first date that’s a week long, a psychic named Lady Arabelle, and a surgically altered talking yellow lab named Dog J. Oh, and the deceased wife makes death masks and has snakes tattooed under her hair. Sound tacky?
Well, don’t be fooled. This is a literary masterpiece through and through.

Each oddity takes you further into the mystery of his wife’s death, into her psyche, into himself, their marriage and his grief. The plot is tight, the writing fluid, and the voice so unbelievably believable that you’re ready to follow this writer anywhere. I, for one, can’t wait to see where she goes next.

Filed Under: Reviews and Musings |