‘Eden in Winter’ explores dysfunctional Blaine family
Richard North Patterson concludes his Martha’s Vineyard-set Blaine trilogy with Eden in Winter, a talk-heavy resolution of the resentment CIA agent Adam Blaine has held for his father, a famous, sophisticated novelist. Ben Blaine’s death was detailed in Book One, Fall from Grace; he fell from a cliff, and Adam’s brother Teddy is suspected of having pushed him.
Book Two, Loss of Innocence, is a 1960s-set prequel that gives insight into Ben’s character when, as a former Bobby Kennedy aide, he meets a debutante engaged to an Ivy League banker. In Eden, Adam is getting to know Carla, Ben’s mistress, whom he left pregnant and the heir to most of his estate. Expecting to hate her, he finds himself relating to her honesty and depth.
Though many of Patterson’s novels are courtroom dramas, the case against Teddy never gets quite that far. Adam’s CIA skills come into play as he works the evidence, while the district attorney and a tabloid reporter hover. Adam spends a lot of time talking to his therapist about his avoidance of relationships, and Carla writes him many long, introspective emails while he’s on a dangerous secret assignment in Afghanistan. Much more is revealed about the dysfunctional Blaine family, and about Carla’s childhood and addiction problems.
Eden in Winter (400 pages, hardcover) costs $26.95 from Quercus. Richard North Patterson, an alumnus of Ohio Wesleyan University and Case Western Reserve Law School, is a former assistant attorney general for the state of Ohio and won an Edgar award for his first novel, The Lasko Tangent, in 1979.
Nostalgic novella
Midcentury Pittsburgh is the setting for Lucky Jack!, a warm, nostalgic novella by William A. Francis, who taught English at the University of Akron and later served as assistant dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.
The story begins in 2001 when Clark, a good-humored priest, calls at the bishop’s office to discuss his forthcoming retirement. He tells the bishop a few stories of his childhood and then drives through the old Shadyside neighborhood, where he recalls more events from 1953, the year he and his best friend, Jack, were 13 years old.
Clark and Jack’s pranks include driving Jack’s father’s car around the neighborhood without permission and scamming a bartender out of free Cokes (a hilarious scene), but they are responsible boys when it counts, like helping out when Jack’s mother is hospitalized after giving birth to Jack’s little sister.
Polio looms over the city in the summer of 1953, and the boys have been drilled on the symptoms; still, when their friend Big Hank comes down with a headache one day, they don’t immediately recognize trouble. Hank’s battle with the feared illness gives Jack the opportunity for a lovely gesture.
Lucky Jack! (138 pages, softcover) costs $12.95 from online retailers. William A. Francis earned his Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University.
Events
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson) — Jenny Milchman, whose debut psychological thriller Cover of Snow won the 2014 Mary Higgins Clark Award from the Mystery Writers of America, returns with Ruin Falls, about a woman whose children disappear from a hotel room on a family vacation, 2 to 4 p.m. today.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Berea branch, 7 Berea Commons) — Author Sam Thomas talks about The Midwife’s Tale and The Harlot’s Tale, mysteries set in 17th-century England, 7 to 8:45 p.m. Monday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Olmsted Falls branch, 8100 Mapleway Drive) — Claire McMillan, whose debut novel The Gilded Age is a retelling of Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth set among Cleveland society, leads a discussion from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday.
United Methodist Church (20 S. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls) — Mary Doria Russell, author of Doc, a novel about Western icon John “Doc” Holliday and its forthcoming sequel Epitaph, speaks at the Chautauqua-in-Chagrin program, followed by a dessert reception. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Adult tickets start at $21; call 440-247-9700.
Wayne County Public Library (Wooster branch, 220 W. Liberty St.) — Kathryn Long signs her paranormal mystery Dying to Dream and Devilish, Devious, and Deadly with One Bite, new in the comic Lilly M mystery series, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Mac’s Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights) — Matthew Chojnacki signs Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art from the Underground and Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the “Tuesdays on Coventry” summer vendor village across the street from the bookstore.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Strongsville branch, 18700 Westwood Drive) — Gail Ghetia Bellamy signs Cleveland Summertime Memories: A Warm Look Back, 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Brooklyn branch, 4480 Ridge Road) — Alan Dutka, author of Cleveland’s Short Vincent: The Theatrical Grill and Its Notorious Neighbors, talks about the former glamour of the onetime “premier place to see and to be seen,” 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Hudson Library & Historical Society (96 Library St.) — Kent State University alumnus Gary Webster, author of .721: A History of the 1954 Cleveland Indians, talks about his new book When in Doubt, Fire the Skipper: Midseason Managerial Changes in Major League Baseball, 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Barberton Public Library (602 W. Park Ave.) — Akron native Adam Helbling talks about his life before and after an accident that left him with quadriplegia, and his uplifting book Well … I Guess I’m Not Jesus, 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Garfield Heights branch, 5400 Transportation Blvd.) — Ruth Pollack of Garfield Heights talks about and signs her memoir Everything I Need to Know I Learned in a Dysfunctional Family, 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Barnes & Noble (4015 Medina Road, Bath Township) — Poet Doris Washington reads from and signs her work, including The Joy in the Morning and A New Day Begins, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.