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Local Books
Heather Gudenkauf This Is How I Lied
PARK ROW
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After Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl became a runaway bestseller in 2012, there was a lengthy period of time during which it seemed as though every thriller written by a woman who was hailed—by the publishers, by those who wrote blurbs, by reviewers—as the next thing to read if you loved Flynn’s novel. On the one hand, it was an understandable marketing move; on the other, it was almost always an example of failing to manage the reader’s expectations.
Truthfully, I seldom, if ever, thought any of those so-called heirs to Gone Girl were as good as the book to which they were compared. Indeed, the only novels I read during that period that I felt held up to any sort of comparison were Flynn’s earlier novels Sharp Objects and Dark Places.
But I found myself thinking of Flynn’s work quite a bit as I read Heather Gudenkauf’s new novel, This Is How I Lied, released in May. The novel is centered on a cold case in an Iowa community. Maggie, who, as a teenager, found the body of her best friend in some nearby caves, is now a police officer. She is also seven months pregnant, and she and her husband have sacrificed much to bring this child into the world.
When new evidence is found in the case of the murdered girl, Maggie takes charge of the case—bringing the past and the present into collision as the reader is taken back and forth between the day of the crime and the present investigation (quite by accident, that present investigation takes place in what must now be understood as an alternate reality version of June, 2020 in which many things might go wrong, but there is no pandemic).
Gudenkauf—a University of Iowa graduate, Iowa resident and bestselling author whose novels are set in various fictional Iowa locales—has penned a thriller that is reminiscent of Flynn’s novels in a number of ways. There is the sense of small-town claustrophobia, the long hidden secrets, the animosity between children and parents, the partners who are suspicious of one another and more—including a well-executed twist that lands on about the same beat as the famous Gone Girl shocker.
GUDENKAUF’S THRILL ER IS TIGHTLY WRITTEN AND FILL ED WITH MEMORABLE AND FLESHED OUT CHARACTERS
Seen a certain way, it may seem as though I’m damning This Is How I Lied, if not with faint praise, then with the notion that it is somehow derivative of Flynn’s fiction. That is not my intention at all. Gudenkauf’s thriller is tightly written and filled with memorable and fleshed out characters—and it steadily raises the stakes for all of those characters as the story progresses. It is a dark and twisty tale that, yes, will satisfy fans of Flynn’s work. But it is excellent work in its own right, as well. —Rob Cline
Deneishia Jacobpito
Delicate Rain
(SELF-PUBLISHED)
Deneishia Jacobpito’s story Delicate Rain, released in April of this year, follows the short journey to healing of the main character, Francesca DeLouise (Frank). Frank has spent her life in New York City, but finally, much to the dismay of her best friend, Lynn, she decides to head west.
The opening of the story is a nod to the tough life that New York can demand of its residents. Frank has lived through failed relationships and a high-stress career as a lawyer. Although she loves Lynn and has built a life in the city, she has inherited property in Colorado. Frank is determined to start fresh.
As Frank takes the road trip to a small Colorado town, the past seems to melt away from her. Her Aunt Trixie has left her some land and a remote broken down cabin. As she approaches the area of her inheritance, Frank sees Charlie, who is dancing in the field, and is immediately smitten.
As Frank begins to settle in, she gets to know Charlie as she renovates the cabin. They share a metaphysical connection that seems to relax and embrace them both. Without revealing the end of the story, know that readers will see a remarkable transformation in just a few pages.
Frank, who was overwrought by the racism, homophobia and body shaming of the world, becomes a new woman in her new environment. The only moment that challenges suspension of disbelief is that a lifelong New York City lawyer has all of the know-how and skills to rebuild the cabin, including solar panels—all on her own.
The close third-person narration brings Frank’s feelings and thoughts into sharp focus while allowing a distance from Charlie and the legacy Aunt Trixie has left Frank. Still, Charlie and Trixie both play important roles as Frank finally becomes the woman she truly wants to be. Although the plot is predictable, the writing itself is well-crafted and lovely.
Jacobpito—a Cornell College graduate and an editor at Pollinate Magazine—presents this short story as a book unto itself. It left me wondering how it would interact with other stories as part of a collection.
Overall, Delicate Rain is a nod to the stresses of modern life and an homage to the need all humans have to connect to their history and to find true love, whatever form it may take. —Laura Johnson
THE FALAFEL JOINT
