South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Family mystery unfolds over decades
An examination of guilt, innocence and the presumption of guilt as seen through the prism of a family falling apart under the weight of these ideals has long been the theme of William Landay’s perceptive novels, such as “Defending Jacob,” a highlight of 2012, and now his fascinating “All That Is Mine I Carry With Me.”
Landay’s fourth novel is an all-encompassing look at family dynamics through several decades, at the legacy of violence that looms over this family and how this determines each child’s future. “All That Is Mine I Carry With Me” also works, in a way, as a master class in juggling genres into a cohesive story. In different chapters, Landay uses a memoir, a short story, a first-person tale and straightforward narratives for a plot that excels.
“All That Is Mine I Carry With Me” begins with Phil Solomon struggling with writer’s block, trying to find inspiration for his next novel. A chance encounter with his childhood friend, Jeff Larkin, provides the solution as Phil, with his old pal’s permission, revolves his next novel around what happened to Jeff ’s family.
In 1975, Jeff ’s 10-yearold sister, Miranda, came home to school to find her mother, Jane, missing. The child saw no sign of a struggle in their Newton, Mass., home and her mother’s purse was on the counter. It wasn’t until oldest son Alex, Jeff and their father, Daniel, a high-powered defense attorney, return home that Jane’s absence becomes serious. A massive missing person investigation becomes a homicide inquiry — though no body is found — focusing on Daniel as the logical suspect.
As the Larkins’ story unfolds, Phil steps out of the story, as an author should, allowing the family to tell how Jane’s disappearance affected each. The police, district attorney, neighbors and Jane’s sister, Kate, all believe Daniel killed his wife.
But no charges can be filed because of a lack of evidence.
“All That Is Mine I Carry With Me” covers several decades as the children became adults. The case grows cold although thoughtful police detective Tom Glover never stops following leads, determined to find a trace of
Jane that will prove Daniel guilty.
Landay gives an in-depth look at each Larkin sibling from childhood to adulthood. Alex, who always believed his father innocent, became an attorney like Daniel. Miranda and Jeff wavered between believing their father innocent to being sure he murdered their mother. Both, especially Jeff, drifted through life. Jeff grows to despise his father, existing in “a maze of hate.” They will always wonder if they were being raised by a cold, distant father, or a murderer.
Daniel is never likable — bombastic, revels in conflict and making people uncomfortable — but the reader veers from believing him innocent to being capable of murder. Landay shapes each character as realistic, flawed and all too human.
“All That Is Mine I Carry With Me” delivers a solid tale.
War stories
James R. Benn’s 17 novels about WWII U.S. Army special investigator Billy Boyle delve into the machinations of war and the people affected by it, allowing readers to connect with those times in ways that most textbooks cannot. A Boston cop as a civilian, Billy Boyle spends WWII reporting to Gen. Eisenhower, with Benn weaving in many social issues in the plots.
“The Refusal Camp” marks Benn’s first collection of short stories, giving the Tampa-based author the opportunity to show that his affinity for wartime stories expands beyond WWII and his perennial character. The nine new and previously published short stories encompass the American Revolution, the Korean conflict, prisoner of war camps, WWII and the postwar era, and life on the home front.
Despite its title. “Billy Boyle: The Lost Prologue” doesn’t feature Benn’s long-time investigator. It’s an essay about the series’ beginnings, though longtime readers will recognize some of the characters that appeared in the debut novel “Billy Boyle.”
A gripping police procedural, “Irish Tommy” highlights two Boston detective brothers with a connection to Billy Boyle. Billy’s father, Terrance, and his uncle, Daniel, try to track down Nazi spies in Boston with the help of the FBI and an unlikely source. Billy only is mentioned when Daniel asks about his nephew.
Another standout, “The Horse Chestnut Tree” takes place in Connecticut in the aftermath of the American Revolution as a young slave, Freegift, gets the better of two brutal owners who try to frame him for murdering their cousin.
Set during WWII, “Two Neds” shows the importance of allegiance forged on the battlefield, even when two soldiers don’t like each other personally.
A former Jewish concentration camp prisoner immediately recognizes the guard he hated most is now his colleague years later in the United States in the revenge-themed “Vengeance Weapon.”
“The Refusal Camp” is a solid look at war through the decades.