4 out of 4 stars
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Flaherty’s Crossing by Kaylin McFarren is a novel about a successful thirty-something artist dealing with long-simmering family issues on different fronts. It can be categorized in the General Fiction genre. When Kate Flaherty visits her father who has end-stage cancer, it brings back memories of her mother’s death years earlier and the aftermath. At the same time, Kate’s marriage is imploding due to drifting in different directions and suspicions of cheating. When her car swerves on the ride home, she walks to a nearby diner and things take an interesting turn.
I quickly became engrossed in this book and found it hard to put down. After an introductory scene between Kate and her father on his deathbed, Kate starts thinking about her marriage. She and her husband Drew find it difficult to discuss their marital problems. There are really no bad guys here - just resentments that have built up over time and two good people who are overly involved in their careers.
The story is told in the third person with alternating points of view. The main characters are realistically written and their different perspectives allowed me to get a better understanding of both sides of a marriage in crisis. The only downside is that I would become impatient to continue reading “Kate’s chapters,” which I felt were the heart of the book. Kate’s Aunt Sophie is a particularly intriguing character, although all of the supporting characters are well drawn. There is also a suspenseful subplot that kept me on my toes.
I loved the light-hearted tidbits sprinkled throughout the book, such as the nosy neighbor coming by for some flour and the funny way the couple met (Kate accidentally dropped a ten-pound book on Drew’s foot at a restaurant). These short scenes created a nice depth and balance against the more serious themes.
Although the writing generally has a smooth flow, the descriptions can be a little overdone at times. Here are a few examples: “the heels of her hands hit first, bulldozing two paths in the mud like fleshy garden hoes;” “Kate’s fear devoured oxygen like the backdraft in a blazing fire;” and “she raised her hand to flag the car down, its white orbs prancing on her pupils.”
As much as I enjoyed the entire story, there are a few twists and turns that made my jaw drop. The author does a wonderful job of tying the seemingly separate parts of the plot together. This book has earned a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend it to basically anyone who likes a well-crafted plot with layered characters.
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Flaherty's Crossing
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