October 23, 2016 RETURN TO SENDER

The weather has been playing tricks on me lately. Went out for a run in shorts yesterday and by lunchtime I was wearing a wool sweater. This morning the sun looked warm but the wind was fierce--didn't know what to wear out running. I hate when my ears and fingers get cold so I covered both, dressed in a few layers and headed out. It was warm on some streets and CHILLY on others --as a brisk west wind whipped up and down the avenues. It's the time of year when I never know what to wear. All I know for sure is I would rather have a WEST wind than a NORTH wind AND REALLY HATE THE NORTHEAST wind blowing off the river. Like I said, the weather this time of year is a real mystery to me. This reminds me of this great book I read a few years back where the author, Dan Chaon, played "tricks" on the reader in his mystery thriller Await Your Reply. 

Choan constructs this novel as a sort of puzzle but the reader has NO idea how the pieces fit together until the bitter end--that's how well crafted it is. Choan introduces us to three different storylines that appear to have nothing in common. Ryan is a student facing an identity crisis as he finds out he's adopted. Miles Cheshire has a schizophrenic twin brother that he has spent his adult life looking for and Lucy Lattimore, fresh out of high school, runs away with her high school history teacher. Seems simple enough, right?? Think again.  Each story in and of itself is mysterious as several of the characters are immoral, violent or just shady individuals while others appear quite naive until it's too late. This is more than just a thriller, it is a masterpiece of a mystery. The three stories converge about 2/3 through the book, and I guarantee you will NOT be able to put it down. Just when you think you have it all figured out--Think again--because you will not--until you turn the last page. Seriously. It's about 350 pages --about a 5 mile run--that you will never forget. Pick up a copy now. Why wait?