THE LAST GOOD DAY by Peter Blauner
Peter Blauner's new novel THE LAST GOOD DAY is a fascinating look at life in suburbia as it exists today. With the economy causing fortunes to be falling, and terrorists causing fears to be accelerating, a peaceful environment in which to raise our children is our last, great hope. THE LAST GOOD Day says the place you stake out to achieve that goal may be on shifting sands.
Barry and Lynn Schulman live in Riverside, New York. Barry is an attorney who commutes to his office in the City, while Lynn stays home with their two children and practices photography on the side. They have a dream home in a quiet community, and hopes that this is the best pace to raise their kids.
Lynn was born and raised in Riverside and now hopes coming back to her hometown will give her family peace and stability. But those hopes are shattered when a headless body washes up in the river near the commuter station where Barry is awaiting his train. This body turns out to be one of Lynn's oldest and dearest friends.
Things get further complicated when Lynn runs into Mike Fallon. He is a man from her past and is now the police officer investigating the case. Mike seems to believe that he and Lynn have issues that have not been resolved. His insistence in seeing Lynn and talking with her leads to Barry's involvement with him. The two men become enemies and the situation becomes explosive.
Blauner is excellent at creating a smoldering situation that gets worse with every page the reader turns. The characters are being swept down a river of emotions, which leads to a waterfall of tragedy. They seem helpless to change their courses and are inevitably doomed.
The author also puts a few twists and turns into the plot, which keep the readers off balance. Is Mike the killer or an innocent party? Is Barry a hero or a villain himself? Is anyone who or what they seem to be? It is only in the final pages that these questions are answered.
THE LAST GOOD DAY takes place in the everyday world that all of us inhabit. That is what makes it terrifying, and completely engrossing.
THE LAST GOOD DAY is published by Little, Brown and Company. It contains 422 pages and sells for $24.95.