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The Hamptons is known its natural light, reflecting off the water and attracting artists. But the Hamptons also has dark psychological corners, and this seemingly attracts noir writers. The latest is Allan Retzky, who in his debut has written a compelling noir thriller. The novel starts with a very basic "what if." What if a man, riding the well-known and rather mundane Hamptons Jitney from New York City has a short encounter that leads to a never-ending nightmare? Amos Posner is that man, an international trader who is being investigated by the Justice Department and has lost his job; he's innocent of the charges, but has been set up to be the fall guy. He spends more and more of his days at the beach house at Amagansett, away from New York City and his wife Sara, who believes he is having an affair. But Posner is faithful, even when a seductive and sensual woman, Heidi, tries to engage him in conversation aboard the jitney. A little while later, in town, he runs across Heidi again. She cajoles him into showing her the beach house. When she dies there, Posner panics and rather than reporting the death, buries her amid the sand dunes. And why not? He's being investigated by the government for something he didn't do, and his wife already believes he's unfaithful. While detective Peter Wisdom investigates Heidi's disappearance, her boyfriend, Dr. Henry Stern, also travels to the Hamptons and begins stalking Posner, who has been identified as one of the last people to talk to her. Stern, who has suffered from psychotic episodes in the past, goes off his medication, becoming more and more unhinged. Retzky writes in a spare, dry style, but the characters are multi-layered and complex. The plot never lets up on the tension, giving us several twists and turns in the end. Even better, many of us can imagine being in such a situation. Perhaps, as our mothers taught us, it's best not to talk to strangers. § Lourdes Venard is a newspaper editor in Long Island, N.Y.
Reviewed by Lourdes Venard, September 2012
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