From Publishers Weekly
Readers will be startled to learn early on that the heroine of this engrossing puzzle, 26-year-old Laurel Estabrook, was born in West Egg. Wait a minute, wasn't West Egg where Jay Gatsby lived? Laurel works in a Burlington, Vt., homeless shelter and is trying to overcome mental and physical scars incurred from a brutal assault some six years earlier. After being given a portfolio of photographs taken by a recently deceased resident of the shelter, Bobbie Crocker, she becomes obsessed with questions surrounding what appears to be a picture of herself shot on the day of her attack. Laurel's already fragile mental state begins to unravel as she follows Bobbie's life from his rich-kid childhood on Long Island to homelessness in Vermont. The Gatsby references form the basis of the mystery, compelling readers to try to imagine how this fictional backdrop relates to the novel's "reality." It's a high-wire act for bestseller Bohjalian (Midwives), and while the climactic explanation may be a letdown for some, he generally pulls off a tricky and intriguing premise.

This was an intriguing and spellbinding book! I found myself unable to put it down, carried along with Laurel on her quest. When I finished the book, I wanted to start over and read it all again as well as give The Great Gatsby another go, a book I haven't read since high school. Overall, great book!

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Added this to JudySlump612's Medicine Chest Book Box.

Returned to me in the Medicine Chest Book Box.

Wow, I'm still gasping! Like Ri, I found myself unable to put it down. I'm not going to go into the plot, because there are many surprising shifts that I want future readers to be able to enjoy unspoiled. But I can't think of another author who's such a master of timing, giving you new information or viewpoints, just when you think you see what's going on, that will send you off in unexpected directions.

Since this is such a terrific book, I'll take it with me to share at the Boston UnConvention, probably for the New England book swap.

Got this book at the Yankee Swap at the BookCrossing UnConvention. I'm really looking forward to reading it! Thanks for passing it along.

Was given this book in the Yankee Swap at the 2010 Boston BookCrossing UnConvention. Thanks for passing it along! I thought the story had a very slow build for a mystery story, so it felt at odds with the main character's urgency to solve the mystery. The story does tie together well, though.

Releasing at the Boston BookCrossing Meetup...hope it finds a good home!

ORPHANED at the bookcrossing local Boston meetup, January 11, 2011…
Will release at OBCZ at Cafe Bella Vita, Boston, MA.

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