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Were it not for bad luck, some people would have no luck at all, as the saying goes. As this novel opens, Jo Handley might not altogether agree that it applies to her. Certainly she had a horrible childhood, ultimately winding up with a foster family. Then, as an adult, her luck appeared to change. She fell in love, married, and had a little girl, Lauren. She was, in short, blissfully happy, convinced that her early sorrows were behind her. But on a terrible day while the family is on holiday, she left Lauren in her buggy while she slipped into a shop for a few moments. When she came outside, Lauren was gone and has never been seen since. In short order, her husband is also dead, a presumed suicide. But Jo has a strong and stubborn streak. Convinced that Lauren is still alive, she does not succumb to despair. Indeed, in time she makes a second, and happy, marriage and finds a new career in a literary tour business with her new husband. Although Lauren is never far from her thoughts, she has a satisfactory life. Except, of course, that periodically, she receives unsigned postcards bearing Lauren's baby photo and the message "I still have her." Her husband Marcus and the police believe these come from a warped practical joker, but to Jo, they are proof that Lauren is still alive and to be found. But true to the pattern of Jo's life, her contentment will be short-lived. Marcus's surly teen-aged son Sean comes to live with them and his mere presence seems to upset Jo's delicate equilibrium. She gradually but inexorably sinks into depression and minor madness, a descent fuelled in part by Marcus withdrawing his unconditional affection, perhaps because of Sean's unrelieved hostility to Jo. Much of the book is given to detailing her slow withdrawal into a single-minded obsession with recovering Lauren, whom she believes is in the neighbourhood. I have to admit to a certain bias against the woman-being-driven-slowly-mad theme, but in this case, the process is detailed with sensitivity and the author writes very well indeed. Thus, although we can see the outlines of the conclusion well before the end, still Janes provides enough suggestions of alternate possibilities to keep us in suspense. I particularly admired the way the larger community around Jo shrank to insignificance as she deteriorated. This is rather more early Laura Wilson than late Barbara Vine, but still very likely to hold your attention to the end. Note: For some odd reason, the tense of the title changed as the book crossed the Atlantic. Simultaneously published in both the UK and the US, it appears in Britain as WHY DON'T YOU COME FOR ME? Otherwise the two are identical. § Yvonne Klein is a writer, translator, and retired college English professor who lives in Montreal.
Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, June 2011
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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