"fine historical who-done-it"
At thirty-nine, Claire Maleck knows her life in DC is over
as her affair with her boss, repulsive Senator Bob Mallory
has ended. Knowing she needs to start over, Claire,
accompanied by her teenage daughter, drives to Boston to
stay with her mom until she can find employment. In Cape
Cod, Claire asks the editor of the Covenant John Hillman
for a job as a secretary. Instead, John hires her to write
obituaries, which serves as an on the job internship in
finding information and writing copy. Soon Claire finds herself attracted to her boss' son
reporter Lane Hillman, who reciprocates her feelings.
However, he is closer in age to her daughter than to her
and in the already heated summer of 1968 that relationship
is taboo. As they work together inquiring into two
murders, they fall in love, but neither realizes the danger
their investigative journalism will place them in from a
killer who wants to remain unidentified. The who-done-it is fun to follow and filled with suspense,
but also the mystery is quite obvious. However, the clever
use of major historical items from a summer that burned
makes for a tremendously entertaining tale especially for
those boomers who can relate to Chicago, riots, and
assassinations. Claire is a great prime player who enables
the reader to feel that crazy world of fire thirty five
years ago yet she also allows fans to see inside those who
touch her, a rare reversal that shows how talented John
Hough, Jr. is. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 24, 2003
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In the summer of 1968, the world is on the verge of
change. So is thirty-seven-year-old single mother Claire
Malek. Anxious for escape from her old job and
life—she packs her daughter April, and everything
they own, into her Camaro, and without looking back, heads
toward a small town on Cape Cod. Her brand new life begins
with a position as a reporter for the local
newspaper...and with her growing affection for Lane
Hillman, fifteen years her junior, fresh out of Harvard.
But even this peaceful corner of New England is not immune
to tragedy. While investigating the mysterious deaths of
two local teenagers, Claire and Lane are drawn closer
together in the face of an unexpected threat. Now, in this
last summer of Lane's youth, and the first summer of
Claire's awakening, they must confront the realities of a
turbulent new world...and struggle with questions of love
and sacrifice that will resonate in their lives for years
to come.
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