A BRIEF LUNACY
Cynthia Thayer, . . Algonquin, $22.95 (241pp) ISBN 978-1-56512-444-8
An act of kindness leads to horrors in a sober, wrenching literary thriller. Carl and Jessie, a long-married and loving couple, are enjoying a quiet retirement in their isolated Maine house. Their one real worry is their schizophrenic, institutionalized daughter, Sylvie, who one day calls to say that she has run away from her facility. As the couple worries about Sylvie, a young man calling himself Jonah appears, claiming that his camping gear was stolen from a nearby site. Ignoring Carl's wariness, Jessie offers Jonah a bed for the night; Jonah responds by taking them hostage in their home. Jonah, they eventually learn, is Sylvie's boyfriend from the facility, a schizophrenic who plays a torturous series of psychological games with the couple that bring dark family histories to light. Thayer (
Reviewed on: 01/31/2005
Genre: Fiction
Open Ebook - 256 pages - 978-1-61620-232-3
Paperback - 241 pages - 978-0-385-33964-3