On the surface, Ashford, Vermont, seems like a quaint New England college town, but to those who live among the shadowy remains of its abandoned mills and factories, and beneath its towering steel bridges, it’s known as Burntown. Eva Sandeski, who goes by the name Necco on the street, has been a part of Burntown’s underworld for years, ever since the night her father, Miles, drowned in a flood … a flood that left her and her mother, Lily, homeless. A respected professor, Miles was also an inventor of fantastic machines, including one so secret that the plans were said to have been stolen from Thomas Edison’s workshop. According to Lily, this machine got Miles murdered.
Necco has always written off this claim as the fevered imaginings of a woman consumed by grief. But when Lily also dies under mysterious circumstances, and Necco’s boyfriend is murdered, she’s convinced her mother was telling the truth. Now, on the run from a man called Snake Eyes, Necco must rely on other Burntown outsiders to survive.
As the lives of these misfits intersect, and as the killer from the Sandeski family’s past draws ever closer, a story of edge-of-your-seat suspense begins to unfurl with classic Jennifer McMahon twists and turns.
more
This audiobook was REALLY weird in so many ways…McMahon’s weirdest one yet. What do a man in a chicken mask, an inventor, a pregnant vagabond, a teenage drug dealer, a group of “fire-eaters,” a woman who aspires to be the fat lady at the circus, and a private eye’s lackey have in common? Well, I’ll be darned…I actually cared enough to keep listening and find out. Once I got over the initial “Ummmm…I’m not sure about this” phase, I started to love the story. The oddball characters really charmed me, the mystery deepened, and adventure ensued. Stick with it – the plot thickens up just after the “huh?” The book was quite good and the narration was excellent.
When I started reading, I thought I would toss the book. But I kept going and was greatly rewarded. The characters of this story pile into each other like clowns at the circus. Each one has an important part to play, abet some parts are bigger than others. Street people live in another world from others and this story shows compassion and understanding of that other world. Much more than a beach read, it instructs and explains.
As a child, Miles watched in horror as his mother was murdered before his very eyes. Despite that awful event, Miles grew up into a well-respected professor, as well as an inventor. He married his wife, Lily, and they had a family, daughter Eva and son Errol. Miles loves to tinker in his workshop while Eva watches and assists. Miles best invention, however? A machine built off plans supposedly from Thomas Edison and handed down to Miles: it allows you to speak with your deceased loved ones. But Miles’ hard-fought happy adult life ends when a terrible storm hits his family home: at the same time, the machine turns itself on, warning them of danger. Shortly after, Eva awakes and is told by Lily that Miles and Errol are dead. Their home has been lost in the “Great Flood,” and they can never return. Eva reinvents herself as Necco, and she and her mother find a new life among the homeless of Burntown. But then Necco’s mother dies and a series of events shows that Necco is in grave danger. What exactly happened the night of the Great Flood? And will Necco ever be safe again?
The premise of this book probably sounds absurd, but please, don’t let it deter you. I’ve read a handful of McMahon’s books over time now and liked them all, but I really, really enjoyed this book. Many of her books have a blend of paranormal, fantasy, etc., and this one was no exception, expertly weaving in fantasy and supernatural flavors into a surprisingly riveting mystery.
The novel starts off a bit convoluted–there are a lot of narrators–and you have to suspend your disbelief at times for the plot to work, but it’s really worth it. Necco is a wonderful character, and she’s surrounded by this intriguing group of people, including Pru, a cafeteria lady/circus fanatic; Theo, a high school student finding her way; and Mr. Marcelle, a delivery man who helps out his private investigator brother. McMahon seamlessly weaves together these characters–and many more–into a mesmerizing tale that is part ghost story, part mystery, part love story. I honestly couldn’t put this book down: I stayed up late to finish it.
This novel isn’t your usual mystery or your usual supernatural tale, but it’s certainly worth reading if you like one or both genres. There’s a sweetness to it, as well as a completely compelling plot that will pull you in immediately. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/
Had great potential, but the ending was weak.