Mother of Pearl

Gilbert’s fiction debut is the intense tale of Barrie Graeber and her family. Barrie is a high school counselor, and her teenage daughter Pearl makes some bad choices that lead to her death in a car crash. The family’s grief takes a complex turn when they learn of Pearl’s involvement with an adult and Barrie pursues her desire for justice. The emotionally fraught plot unfolds very slowly, and certain key developments occur late in the narrative, blurring the novel’s focus: is it about grief or sexual predation? Gilbert, a former paralegal, is at her best with courtroom scenes, when deliberate pacing is both dramatic and appropriate. But characterization of several of the minor figures is too slight, and the overall tempo is so slow as to become more melodrama than taut drama that sinks under the weight of too many issues. Agent: Sandra Bishop, MacGregor Literary Agency (Sept.)