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Hope River, Canada is the last place in the world Rebecca McKenzie ever wanted to see again; going back to bury her mother only makes the prospect worse. To say that the McKenzie family is dysfunctional would be a world-class understatement. Big Jim, the grandfather, was an all-around abuser. His son, Robert, drank and didn't protect his family from Big Jim. Janet, Robert's wife, is a British war-bride who finds herself trapped in this family, with no realistic escape. Shirley, Rebecca's older sister, takes the first opportunity out by marrying Al. Little Jim is an amoral charmer. Rebecca is given a chance to escape; Janet uses an inheritance to help pay for college. When Rebecca returns for Janet's funeral, she thinks nothing has changed. True, her grandparents are dead, so Big Jim isn't a threat any more. Shirley is bitter and resentful of Rebecca. Little Jim is on wife number four, and the locals have him fingered for some connection to the disappearance of a local teenager who worked for him. Robert doesn't seem to be drinking as much, but his mind is wandering. Is this grief, the early signs of Alzheimer's, or something connected to years of alcohol abuse? While in the process of clearing out her mother's belongings, Rebecca is told by her father that she may have the 30-40 years of diaries kept by Janet, diaries of which none of the children were aware, diaries that Robert says he never read. These diaries tell Rebecca more about her family, past and present, than she ever thought possible. Rebecca is taken aback to find out that she really likes Aileen, Jimmy's most recent wife, and that Jimmy's relationship with Aileen is very different from anything Rebecca expected. This makes it easier for her to stick up for Jimmy when the locals become persistent in their extra-legal punishment(s) for Jimmy's presumed guilt in the what is now murder of Jennifer Taylor. I found SCARE THE LIGHT AWAY to be a surprisingly compelling read. I had a difficult time putting it down. Delany conveys all the misgivings that Rebecca has about returning to her family, and the slow realizations that her family has grown and changed, as she has, while she's been gone is handled in a believable fashion. While I'm not sure that some of those changes wouldn't, in real life, probably require some major therapy, they seemed possible while I was reading the book. I'm not sure that the mystery can be solved with the clues as given; the ending didn't strike me as implausible, just not one that I saw coming. While there are plenty of people in SCARE THE LIGHT AWAY that I don't ever want to meet, they are all very real people, people that you or I might know today. The plot is well-thought out and possible. The description of Hope River made me understand why people would not want to live there; not just the McKenzies, but anyone growing up in a small rural community wants to see the big, wide world. I am looking forward to more work from Vicki Delany. The woman can write. While what she writes about isn't always pleasant or pretty, it is believable and engrossing, with an underlying prospect for positive change.
Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, April 2005
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