Justin Kramon’s 2010 debut novel was the well-received coming-of-age story Finny, and now in this deliciously twisted tale, he changes gears, sending readers on a psychological roller-coaster ride.
Julia Stilwell is a college freshman who was responsible for her brother’s death a year before in a car crash. Although her quirky sense of humor and wisecracks get her through the day, she’s a sad and lonely girl with no friends except her roommate. Her parents, who are suffering just as much, are of no help. Her father has become overprotective while her mother can’t bear to look at her.
Julia begins seeing Marcus Broley, a shy gangly music student who seems as much an oddball and outsider as she is. Although she finds him a bit desperate—he calls her three times in one week to confirm hiking plans—she likes him. Enter Sam Blount, an attractive older man nearing his 40th birthday, “a great beast of a birthday,” as he describes it. He works in a sandwich shop on campus and parties with the students. When Julia shows an interest in him, he steals a march on Marcus and he and Julia become a couple. The much-younger Julia will preserve his youth, he feels, along with the potions and lotions he slathers on his face and body. Immediately bad things begin to happen—a rock is thrown through Sam’s window, and Julia finds a dead cat in her dorm room. A little ditty sung in a high whispery voice seems to hang in the air. The terror ramps up as both men vie for her attention until Julia doesn’t know whom she can trust or which way to turn.
Kramon has given readers one of the truly suspenseful books of the year. Written in alternating points of view of the three main characters, the pacing is perfect. Each chapter peels back the layers of evil and becomes progressively more chilling as each secret is revealed, a drip here and a drop there. His characters are well defined, and some of his secondary characters, such as Dena and Rex, local business owners, and Lonnie, Sam’s potty-mouthed coworker, are memorable. Crime fans won’t want to miss this one.
