Archive for the ‘Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’ Tag
Fun and clever are the best ways to describe Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia.
Tuesday is a 30-something researcher for a large Boston hospital; her job is to find potential high dollar donors. She’s a loner. Her only friends are Dex and Abby, her childhood best friend, who disappeared when they girls were 16.
Abby’s body was never found; through the years she pleads with Mooney to find her killer. Bold font serves as Abby’s voice, but only Tuesday (and the reader) know it. She never reveals the presence of Abby’s ghost. This is the parallel story to the engaging narrative involving the aptly named Vincent Pryce.
Yes, it’s far-fetched, but lean into it.
Although Pryce, a kind, eccentric billionaire, dies at a hospital fundraising event early in the novel, his presence is always close. His death makes the news, but what really creates the headlines is his bequest to the city: a treasure hunt for some of his fortune with numerous clues, including several references to Edgar Allan Poe.
Soon Tuesday’s circle expands to include Dorry, her teenage neighbor, and Edgar Allan Arches Jr., aka Archie, youngest son of the wealthy Arches family. Tuesday puts her researching expertise to work solving the clues – along with hundreds of other Bostonians. Of course there’s a villain added to the mix.
The result is a double mystery: how did Archie’s father die and who will find the hidden cache? There’s also a bit of romance and a lot of humor.
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts
Four bookmarks
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019
359 pages
Florence Gordon is a crotchety old woman. Actually, she’s not that old (75), and bitchy is a better description. Yet, this title character of Brian Morton’s novel is certainly likeable – not lovable, but fascinating. Hers is a forceful, no-nonsense personality. Although she’s a writer and considered an icon among feminists, she’s a poor communicator.
Sure, she’s written numerous essays, has plans to write her memoir and speaks her mind. The trouble is she doesn’t share what’s in her heart. Neither does anyone else in her family: her son, Daniel; his wife, Janine who adores Florence; nor their daughter, college-age daughter, Emily. This is a family of secrets. They hold tight to the things that should be shared with kin. Sadly, they spend a lot of time interpreting, often erroneously, one another’s actions.
Florence is put off by Janine’s adoration and seemingly disappointed by Daniel’s career choice: a cop. Still, Florence and Emily slowly start to build a relationship beyond something perfunctory. Emily helps her grandmother with some research. The latter is surprised to discover that her granddaughter is intelligent and perceptive.
The writing is terse, yet the characters and New York City setting are well-portrayed. Morton does a fine job, especially with the females, of inviting the reader to see what’s inside the characters’ heads. An absent character, Janine and Daniel’s son, is alluded to as a talker. Perhaps he could have gotten Florence to open up. That would have made for a completely different, but not necessarily better, story.
Florence Gordon
Four Bookmarks
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014
306 pages
The Blue Page Special 