Library Limelights 305

 

Sam Shelstad. Citizens of Light. Canada: Brindle & Glass/TouchWood Editions, 2022.

Colleen Weagle has one of those voices we don't really want to hear: she works at a call centre, persuading us to sign up for things or buy, buy, buy. A few months ago her husband Leonard died after a mere three-year marriage; the circumstances were bizarre but police have ruled it a shotgun suicide, dismissing Colleen's objections. She says he would never have killed himself, as well as the location – Morrison Bog – being a place she had never known him to visit. Sometimes in the evenings when her elderly Mother is absorbed in the telly, Colleen plays "Reindeer Island," an internet game that Leonard loved; it helps distract from her grief. Then a random newspaper photo of an arrest in Niagara Falls shows a casino employee in the background—the very same stranger who had showed up briefly at Leonard's funeral. Colleen is determined to follow her instincts: find this man. Maybe he knows something that helps explain Leonard's uncharacteristic behaviour.

By chance, again, when Colleen vents her frustration at being denied a weekend off work, her call centre colleague, Patti, decides to drive them to Niagara Falls. Colleen scarcely knows Patti, who sorely lacks any social skills. But she's into the story. And it's a good excuse to leave her husband. They rent a hotel room and the weirdness begins, hunting for a man whose name they don't know. Before long they are involved with casino visits, Russian scam artists, a stalker, burgling a house, reindeer, Patti's furious husband, a fun house tour, and so on—while Colleen goes back and forth to assuage her lonely neurotic Mother (you can tell it's Canadian because the word sorry is over-used).

They manage to scare themselves silly a few times, although Patti likes the town so much she's making it her new home. She's completely fascinated when she learns that Colleen once lived with a cult at the Citizens of Light Rejuvenation Farm; its maniac founder, Father Woodbine, now rests in prison. Colleen does not like to talk about it, spending her spare time writing "spec scripts" for her mother's favourite TV show. For Colleen's sake Patti hangs in with the hunt for Leonard's mystery man. Once they identify him, they're in pure danger.

You might expect this to be a cosy because of its two amateur detectives. Not exactly! Even needy, nattering Mother has a role to play. It's part sleuthing, part hilarious, part fanciful, in Colleen's narrative. Are they chasing a phantom? How convincing is the ultimate scenario? Slowing down the action near the end does not feel right, but it doesn't detract from the give and take between the two women (I want to say the two girls because they act a lot like teenagers). Not your usual murderous mystery.

One-liners

▪ The dark religious stuff was introduced gradually. (12)

▪ Even if you're not happy with your life, a solid routine will keep you from being too mopey. (16)

▪ Perhaps by sharing a hotel room with Patti I'd absorb some of her attitude, her swagger. (29)

▪ "My mother's not answering the phone." (45)

▪ "You're a liar and I know Patti's fucking around on me." (65)

▪ Remembering life with the Citizens of Light made me feel uneasy, nauseous, or like menacing things were waiting around every corner. (117)

▪ "You know cell phones are like tracking devices, right?" (140)

▪ "I can't tell if you've gotten worse or if I like you better." (140)

▪ THE NATURAL LIGHT OF GOD IS DEATH. (184)

Multi-liners

▪ "You can't take the bus. Jesus. I'll drive us there. It'll be a girl's weekend." (27)

▪ Mother was huddled in the empty tub, head between her knees. She clutched a closed umbrella with both hands. (57)

▪ "I'm not going home," Patti said. "I have my IHOP interview tomorrow, remember?" (88)

▪ "What the fuck were you thinking?" Patti whispered, her face panicked. (107)

▪ "Start with Woodbine. What was he like?" (118)

▪ I couldn't let the cops mess everything up. They didn't care about Leonard. (151)

▪ Dougie lay on the ground in the near distance, clutching his knee. (170)

▪ "You will behave yourselves. That's just how it's got to be." (184-5)

▪ "Everything is going to work out. It's interesting, actually. The universe putting us all together like this. (188)

Nervous?

The only thing that existed for me in that moment was my phone, and so when Patti walked in the door, I screamed. I jumped forward and hit my head against the wall. Patti screamed too.

She was still holding the door open and a man from a neighbouring room appeared behind her. He asked us if everything was alright.

"I heard shouts," the man said. His face was completely sunburnt. It was painful to look at.

"We're fine, thanks," Patti said. "Just startled each other."

"I thought there might have been an attacker," the man said. He looked down at me on the carpet, where I lay rubbing my sore head. "Just so you know, if you guys have any problems, come knock on my door. I'm right across the hall. I'm actually trained in combat."

"We'll keep that in mind," Patti said.

"In fact, if you two want a defense lesson I can bring my brother over. He's trained in combat too. We can run through some scenarios." (86)

Megan Collins. The Family Plot. Ebook download from TPL. USA: Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, 2022.

What's a good psychological thriller without a dysfunctional family? Lighthouse family members gather on Blackburn Island to bury their father, Daniel, in his chosen plot. Charlie and Tate were born close together, and remain close, having left the island years ago. Much younger twin siblings are Andy and Dahlia; Andy, too, left eight years ago, saying in a note he'd never come back. Dahlia is our narrator, missing Andy terribly, still searching for him via the internet. Now living on the mainland, Dahlia has a neighbour, Greta, who is an eager true crime fan.

The four Lighthouse children had a most unconventional upbringing, home-schooled on the island by their mother who is obsessed with the murder of her parents. She collects graphic information about murder victims, including those of a serial killer on the island who was never caught. The whole family attends her many "honouring" ceremonies, complete with victims' photographs and biographies. Murder was the fount of mother's schooling; she believed knowledge of violence would protect her children from it. Clearly the kids could hardly wait to leave. The locals call their home "Murder Mansion."

Faithful Fritz, their longtime handyman, reports that in preparing Daniel's grave, he's found a skeletal body already buried there. Imagine the shock. Could there be a connection to the Blackburn serial killer? The family reacts in different ways, especially after the body is identified. Sarcastic Charlie gets even drunker than usual; he plans to make a Lighthouse Murder Museum based on his mother's collection. Tate applies herself madly, distractedly, to the diorama she's creating in her father's honour. Dahlia's whole system slows almost to a trance-like state. Half-crazed mother insists on baking cookies, which she's never before done in her life. Inspector Elijah Kraft shows up. His father before him was Blackburn's chief of police.

Dahlia was so insular she didn't even know the girl next door when growing up. Ruby Decker knew Andy, though. Ruby's strict grandfather Lyle kept her close to home. Secrets in the shed on Lighthouse property used by Fritz make him a murder suspect at first. Too many family revelations are coming so fast that Dahlia is in danger of falling completely off balance. She's trying to resolve mysteries and find a murderer before Kraft does. For a reader, much depends, as to be expected, on the credibility factor of the underlying premise―which you won't know until you're well in. There you go, caught. Young Andy's repeated exclamation to Dahlia that "this family is unnatural" is all too true.

Bits

▪ When I told Greta I didn't know the victims personally, but that they were part of our Honoring calendar, her forehead wrinkled with confusion, and I wondered for the first time if Andy had been right, that there was something unnatural about us. (9)

▪ "Careful, Tate," Charlie says. "Let's not kill our sister, shall we? Mom hardly has any room left in her shrine." (13)

▪ "It's time for everyone to see we're not some freaks on top of the hill. We're people." (35)

▪ "And your brother's laughter ... Even from the car, I could tell there wasn't any playfulness in it. Just cruelty." (46)

▪ "You and I could be friends, you know," Ruby says. "Like Andy and I were." (78)

▪ "He said you had problems trusting people. That you only trusted him." (114)

▪ "Dahlia," he says, and his voice is coarse. "What the hell have you done?" (123)

▪ "We have a warrant to search your house." (131)

▪ "I'd made the wrong choice, been the wrong kind of mother." (181)

▪ "Charlie is all spectacle," I reply. He's an actor. He loves an audience." (189)

▪ He pauses, features pinching together. "Why didn't you know?" he screams. (227)

▪ "And my soul"—she rips her eyes from mine, shoving them onto the diorama―"is full of dead bodies." (236)