The Shadow Year Jeffrey Ford Morrow

Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird in the 1960's. Jeffrey Ford sets his novel The Shadow Year in the 1960's. His is a darker, version of children coming of age but still feels a very apt comparison. The narrator, his older brother, Jim and his younger sister, Mary are keeping track of the townsfolk, playing detective in response to reports of a prowler. The narrator writes out his impressions, Mary comments and Jim places clay figures and toy soldiers onto his cardboard and popsicle stick version of the town. They call the model, Botch Town. As the story progresses Mary, begins moving the figures around. The figures in Botch Town are starting to reflect actual events, not just childhood impressions of neighbors. A schoolmate disappears, a mystery man in a large white car arrives. The school librarian breaks down. The children, already less naive than Jem and Scout, eventually face things that will force them to grow up even faster. Well paced, well written, but not your typical mystery story. The Shadow Year can bring back good memories for the reader while still giving him or her a read dark enough to qualify as a mystery thriller. That's worth recommending anytime.

Dave Biemann