The Way Life Should Be
Non-series
Terry Shaw
Simon & Schuster Touchstone (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-4165-6312-1 (1416563121)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-6312-9 (9781416563129)
Publication Date: September 2007
List Price: $14.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Newspaper editor John Quinn and his wife have returned
to his hometown to raise their son, but real estate prices have soared
and natives are being pushed out. Then a popular politician and family
man is murdered at a well-known gay pickup spot. The victim was Quinn's
childhood friend, Paul Stanwood. Quinn insists Paul was only
investigating a police crackdown at the park.
When the police chief and others seem to ignore and downplay obvious
clues, Quinn takes matters into his own hands. Even though his wife's
car is vandalized and a source is severely beaten after he speaks out
on the hidden violence against gays, Quinn refuses to stop looking for
answers. With so many people hiding secrets -- secrets some are willing
to kill for -- Quinn has to find out the truth about his friend's
murder before he, too, is permanently silenced.
Review: Winner of the 2007 Gather.com First Chapters writing competition, the mystery novel The Way Life Should Be by Terry Shaw is an intriguing character study of life in a small town along the Maine coast.
John Quinn's family had been living in Stone Harbor for generations and
running the local newspaper for the better part of the last century.
Following the death of his father, Quinn, who had left Stone Harbor to
seek a more exciting life, returned to the small town to assume
operational and editorial control of the family business. When Paul
Stanwood, a close friend, is murdered in a local park known as a
meeting place for gay men, Quinn is shocked not only at the death of
his friend but that he may also have been leading a secret life.
Determined to discover the truth behind Stanwood's murder, Quinn begins
an investigation that takes him down a path of secrets and lies that
winds its way through his hometown.
Shaw depicts life in this small Maine town through his characters, and
the depth of their development as the story progresses is one of the
strong points of the book. Though Quinn is the primary character, his
family, friends, and associates all play substantial parts and are
given fully developed roles. The author also asks some important
questions about the newspaper business. What function does a small town
paper play in an age of global media empires and the internet? As a
business, should the primary motivation be to make a profit or to be a
voice for the community? Can one be achieved without sacrificing the
other?
At its core, however, The Way Life Should Be is
a mystery and ironically this may be its weakest point. From a plot
perspective, the murder and its resolution are well thought out. But
the attempts at misdirection are handled clumsily and at times seem
disjointed or incomplete. The fluid point-of-view doesn't help and
can change abruptly, sometimes within a single paragraph. When two or
more men are together in a scene, for example, it often isn't clear to
whom the "he" refers.
Despite these minor shortcomings, The Way Life Should Be is a considered, thoughtful debut mystery and is recommended.
Special thanks to Touchstone Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for providing an ARC of The Way Life Should Be for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Omnimystery keywords for The Way Life Should Be ...
Location(s) referenced: Maine.