Allied with her are Riley Kincaid, a young scientist who directs the church handbell choir (and a secret polyamorist), and Curtis Acevedo, a gay Filipino American. Their headstrong leader is Jennie Kanematsu-Ross, a tattooed mother of toddlers who grew up in the church. Ranged against them are the youngsters, who preach a gospel of change and diversity. Only leadership of this sort will secure the future of the institution.
They firmly believe that what the church needs most, as determined by a membership survey, is a newcomer with strong preaching and administrative skills.
On the eight-person committee, Dana forms a bloc with Charlotte Beck, an attorney and the congregation’s ex-president, and Belinda Bauer, an 83-year-old retired high school principal. The burdens of alcoholism, for instance, haunt her debut, “Round Rock,” as well as “ Blame,” her most lauded book, a finalist for both a Times Book Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award. So far so typical of Huneven’s novels, all set in Southern California, which chronicle middle-class professionals forced to deal with crises of authenticity and integrity. She reluctantly came to view Christianity as “a melting ice floe that the very best minds had abandoned.” She relished learning about religious traditions and sorting through classic theological dilemmas, but eventually the course palled. Years ago, adrift and discouraged by the lack of freelance prospects, Dana enrolled in a Protestant seminary, only to drop out after two years. Life is too short for soggy dim sum and overcooked salmon. "One of the greatest crime novelists writing today" (Vox) weaves a masterful, atmospheric tale of suspense, asking how to tell right from wrong in a world where neither is simple, and what we stake on that decision.If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from, whose fees support independent bookstores.ĭana Potowski, the narrator of Michelle Huneven’s sassy and savvy new novel, “ Search,” is a food writer and restaurant reviewer with a taste for international delicacies and a high critical bar. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. Read it once for the plot read it again for the beauty and subtlety of French's writing." -Sarah Lyall, The New York TimesĬal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. "A new Tana French is always cause for celebration. Its own kind of masterpiece." -Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
"This hushed suspense tale about thwarted dreams of escape may be her best one yet.
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