The Length of Days by Lynn Kostoff

Magnolia Beach, South Carolina is a bit south of the glitz of Myrtle Beach. Especially in 2008 during the seismic effects of the real estate crash. Johnny Doc Nowell is a Vietnamese native who escaped his homeland shortly after the US pulled out of Vietnam. He chased numerous jobs across the US before ending up on the SC coast, managed his money well and built up a bit of a real estate portfolio – an old bowling alley, couple storefronts, the odd house, specifically 805 Jefferson. Most of his business dealings are above board. Most.

On one night, a particularly grim weather system rolled in. Sam Fulton, retired from Ohio, is driving home. Stops for a coffee and cheeseburger before continuing. His check engine light warns him of a problem. A problem that shuts down the engine amid this storm. Shut down in front of 805 Jefferson; owned by Johnny Doc. A girl in her underwear bursts from the house into the storm followed by a guy in khakis and a blue shirt. The man catches the girl and starts to drag her back to the house. Sam leans on his horn thinking maybe the guy will let her go if he knows he’s been seen. The guy turns toward Sam’s car, almost amused. He drags the girl toward Sam, presses her face to the passenger window, grabs her by her chin and forehead and violently jerks her head snapping her neck. All while looking right at Sam. Through the rain-soaked window, the man gets a better look at Sam than Sam did of the man. At the house, the front door opens again, and two other girls take off. Sam manages to restart his car so he can put some distance and then call 911. In his review mirror, he sees a spark at the house right before it goes up in flames. In the house were 12 sex workers. Non survived. Many were unable to be identified. Trafficked women? Probably.

The next morning, the local TV station is doing a fluff piece. The word goes out about the police investigating a burned house. The local reporter, an amateur to ‘hard news,’ and her crew are sent to get footage. Seeing the remnants of the house and the lineup of body bags is enough to send Pam Greaves into a case of PTSD. But she’s got a job to do and upon getting a better look at the deceased, starts crying on air. The resulting scene goes viral.

In the first couple pages, Kostoff introduces us to Johnny, Sam, Pam, the guy in khakis. In short order we cross paths with a Hispanic orderly working at a nursing home (he’s got his eye on an empty lot where he’d like to open a car lot), a cop who has been known to look the other way for the right price, and an exile from an old money family. Six people whose lives will all be changed by what went on at 805 Jefferson while the local police detective tries to arrange all the puzzle pieces into a coherent picture that once assembled really isn’t as clear as it should be. And everyone seems to be afraid of the Bowen Brothers who, behind the scenes, seem to ride herd over all things illegal in Magnolia Beach.

For quite some time, I’ve heard from a friend of this blog (Charlie Stella) that Lynn Kostoff was the real deal. One day a week or so ago, I received a copy of Kostoff’s latest from Stark House Press (kudos to Start House!). By their website, it looks like Kostoff must be a new member of the Stark House stable of authors. Kostoff takes us through the remains of 2008 and the people scrapping to get by living in a mostly cast-off beach town south of the legendary Myrtle Beach but might as well be an eternity away. How each of these primary six characters react and live with the tragedy that happened at 805 Jefferson is treated with one part humanity and another part rejection. Kostoff doesn’t wrap this up with a nice pretty bow where the killer gets tracked down so that society can get its just rewards. Some come out OK, others run, others are forever scarred. There really isn't a true protagonist, unless one goes with the investigating detective. Most are trying to dodge the investigation while staying out of the crosshairs of the Bowen Brothers.

Kostoff is the author of five novels, first published in 1991 and then periodically to this 2025 book. We've reviewed an earlier book by Kostoff which I may have to revisit. Length of Days is far from some comfortable, heartwarming story of small-town beach life. The characters, all well-fleshed out by the author, are struggling in their own way with life and the aftermath of the fire. It may not be joyous, but Kostoff has given us one helluva convoluted story; beach noir? This one is seriously well written and staged. It starts fast with the fire, revs up at the investigation gathers steam, leaving us (meaning me) wishing that things ended up different for this group of collateral damage.

Thanks to Stark House for the advance reviewer copy and to Charlie Stella for continuing to lean on me to read more by Kostoff.

 ECD