It's been awhile since I've read a book by this author whom I really enjoy.
This is one of his earliest novels from more than 10 years ago.
STORY SUMMARY
Spencer McCullough is a vegan. He helps to run the vegan/animal rights group called FERAL. He is a bit obsessed with his career. He lives with this wife Catherine, a teacher in a private school, in Manhattan. They have one daughter, aged 12, named Charlotte. Catherine's mother Nan Seton, a very wealthy widow, also lives in Manhattan in a large apartment near Central Park.
Catherine has a brother named John. John, a public defender has a wife named Sara. She's a therapist and they have a newborn son Patrick and 10 year old daughter Willow. The Seton family live in rural Vermont.
John has just become a hunter but his brother in law Spencer does not know this information. John has a loaded rifle in the trunk of his car and the bullet is jammed. He needs to take it to an expert to get it removed.
John has just become a hunter but his brother in law Spencer does not know this information. John has a loaded rifle in the trunk of his car and the bullet is jammed. He needs to take it to an expert to get it removed.
Every summer, the families gather at Nan Seton's summer home, known as Sugar Hill in New Hampshire. Nan, in her 70s, is a very active woman and highly involved in her country club. Typically, Charlotte and Willow spend 2 weeks with Grandmother Seton attending Summer Boot Camp at Nan's country club and then the last week of July all the parents arrive to spend a long weekend together.
On the last evening in July, a shot rings out in the garden at Sugar Hill. A man falls to the ground. He has a horrible wound and is likely to lose his right arm. The man is Spencer. And his daughter Charlotte is the one who pulled the trigger! Was this an accident??
MY THOUGHTS
This is quite a plot. The vegan theme plays a big part in this story because Charlotte thought she saw a deer moving in the garden. Is it ok to shoot a deer if you are vegan and you want to save your dad's precious veggies?? What about hunting? is that ok? When is it NOT ok?
The character development is excellently executed. I loved the girls and there is a lot of "coming of age" undertones to this story. Right before Charlotte finds the rifle in the trunk of her Uncle John's car, she had been experimenting with pot and beer at a bonfire party at the country club that was geared for teenagers. So is her thinking cloudy? Is she stoned or drunk? And how come her parents or aunt/uncle not aware of what the girls have been up to?
Just whose fault IS this shooting??
Just whose fault IS this shooting??
There is much drama to this story and the plot moves along very quickly.
I loved the setting of both New Hampshire and NYC.
Over the course of the story, each character changes. It is up to you to figure out why and how. The ending is very well done. I really enjoyed this novel.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.
2 comments:
I've enjoyed this author's books, too. Haven't read this one, but the location and the plot sound like something I would like. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds very different.
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