"Our truest self is often the person we allow no one to see . . . "His name is Jackson Workman Pickens (aka 'Work'), Attorney at Law in Rowan County, North Carolina - a bit west of Charlotte. Son of Ezra Pickens, Attorney at Law. Brother of Jean, a woman bearing her share of scars. And their mother - was she ever named? In total, one very screwed up family.
Some backstory:
1. Ezra was dirt poor, but clawed his way out to become a powerful and rich lawyer. Misogynistic beyond words. Women were possessions to be overpowered and controlled, and not worthy of mention in his will.
2. The mother played her role and it cost her.
3. Jean delivers pizza, but was once married to a surgeon who was killed by a drunk driver who crashed into the surgeon's parked car when he was humping the babysitter. Ezra had her committed where she met, and now lives with, Alex who has her own violent history of an abusive father whom she handcuffed to a bed and coldly watched him burn.
4. When Work was maybe 13, he spotted Vanessa at a school dance, followed her from a distance when she went outside for a walk only to see her abducted, dragged into a culvert, and raped. When the creep turned on Work, he found some strength and managed to haul him down about the time the cops showed up. A hero he never wanted to be. All he wanted was to be with Vanessa. Over the following 25 years, Vanessa and Work circled each other in a desperate, evolving affair.
5. 10 years ago, Work wedded Barbara whom Ezra just about handpicked to be the dutiful wife of an up and coming attorney. Barbara is beholding only to an image of the country club set.
6. Eighteen months prior to Chapter 1, Ezra and Jean fought over Alex. Work and his mom watched. When the mom intervened, Ezra swung and knocked her down the stairs to her death. Upon returning from the hospital, Ezra receives a call, gathers his keys and coat, walked out the door and was never seen again.
All that happens before the book opens. Ezra's remains have been found, shot twice in the head. Ezra had his share of enemies, but all evidence points to Work because the will reveals that Work would likely get little if any portion of Ezra's $40 million estate; so does Jean. But Work thinks Jean shot her father in retaliation for the argument over Alex and is willing to take the rap to protect his sister.
As the investigation unfolds, Work comes to learn more secrets he wished he had never learned, about Jean, Alex, Barbara, and most importantly, Ezra's manipulative, money worshipping, secretive, and whoring ways. We only learn all the miserable details when Work manages to break the password for a hidden safe in the law offices and find a videotape that answers more questions than Work, or anyone else for that matter, ever thought to ask.
Remember the movie Secrets and Lies? Where a black woman tracks down her birth mother who turns out to be white and all the various family secrets come out? This book reminded me of that. With every new rock that is overturned, Work learns more and more about his father which mushrooms his hatred of Ezra with every chapter. His loyalty to his sister and fear of prison almost ends in his suicide, but Work pulls the gun away only to end up saving Jean's 3rd attempt to take her own life. His sham of a marriage and continuing love of Vanessa only adds an additional layer of complexity to a life spiraling out of control.
Most of the books reviewed here are pretty straightforward - pretty black and white. This was a dozen shades of gray, eloquently written in a style that leans more toward 'literature' than the 'fiction' usually posted here. This was Hart's debut novel and it is far more than a murder mystery/thriller. Those terms are a bit trite and limiting for this story. While the ending is satisfying, I would never call this uplifting because it explores the recesses of a man's soul that most of us would prefer be left alone.
East Coast Don
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