Book Review: When the Stars Go Dark

 

•  Author: Paula McLain

• Where I bought this book: The Strand, New York 

• Why I bought this book: It seemed like a pretty good read

*****

    The story is good and well plotted. The writing pulls you into the story and keeps you there.

    But the backstories that come in the early pages tend to drag on, and you wonder just when the actual tale will start. Then the tropes of the mystery-detective genre enter and are there for all to see, and they distract from that tale.

    First, there is the all-knowing, brilliant detective who has special insight into people and their crimes. It's the "Monk syndrome" after the TV detective played by Tony Shalhoub. His life was otherwise a mess, but he had that special feel for solving crimes, don't you see?

    Indeed, the only flaw in these investigators is they care too much. They let their own lives falter: they work too hard; they drink too much; their only hobby is work. They suffer, and their families suffer. Their lives spin out of control.

    But their special crime-solving ability is because they have lived the life. They have been there. There have suffered the indignities they are investigating. They are survivors (spoiler alert: No, they aren't), and now they want to end the suffering for anyone and everyone, so they put their superpower to work.

    Enter Anna Hart, a product of the mostly failed foster-care system, who is a San Francisco detective with -- you guess it -- a special aptitude for solving crimes dealing with missing children. When something bad happens to Detective Anna, which we don't know the details of until later on, she escapes to the only place she was happy -- Mendocino, Calif., where she spent her teen years in the care of a good foster couple. She plans to relax and recuperate.

The author mentions Time and the Maiden. a statue
in downtown Mendocino. It seems kind of creepy.

    But, don't you know, Anna stumbles into a couple of missing child cases, and the local sheriff, a childhood friend, asks for her help. She jumps in head first.

    The rest is mostly predictable, if well told. It's a linear tale, with some jumping around to keep you interested. And while the author depends on tropes, she avoids the worst -- the dragging out of the final scenes, the great chase, the dangerous climax, until you just want it to end. You'll finish satisfied with its conclusion.