Eighteen years after leaving his downtrodden Upstate New York hometown (practically sneaking out in the dead of night), singer-songwriter Tyler Sinclair is back to perform a benefit concert. The beneficiary is his old friend Tim “Doc” Dockery, who was injured in a childhood accident that Tyler played a part in, and has been living in a wheelchair ever since. Whether Tyler feels responsible to Doc or not, his presence in Stone Mountain is far from voluntary. Tyler’s bandmates, including backup singer and girlfriend Beth, notice how on edge he is well before they enter the city limits.
After the concert turns into an unmitigated disaster, Tyler finds himself stuck in Stone Mountain for far longer than he planned on. He is also forced to reconnect with two other childhood friends, Curt, who has become the town’s chief of police, and Freddi, Tyler’s former crush who has become Curt’s wife. Tyler’s presence in their home has created a rift between Curt and Freddi because it has dredged up long-buried family secrets that are now perilously close to being exposed.
I’ve been a huge fan of Richard Russo’s novels for years, so I do not say this lightly: this is a terrible book. It should not have been published as is. According to an author’s note, this story began life as a television pilot script, and was adapted into a novel when the project fell through. It’s hard to imagine this going over any better in episodic form, though perhaps if it got enough of an episode order Russo would have gotten around to filling some of the massive plot holes.
Worse than the plotting is the characterization. Very few of the characters here behave like human beings might. Tyler is a total cipher as a main character, while Doc and Beth are very brazenly sidelined for most of the book. Curt is frustrating in his inconsistency, while Freddi becomes a ridiculous caricature, an inhuman monster whose behavior goes well beyond the pale, rendering her far beyond the reader’s capacity for empathy.
I can’t say much more without getting into spoilers, but suffice it to say that this is sadly a book best avoided, even for those who have been reliably entertained by Russo in the past.
