Kathy Herman, Ever Present Danger

Ever Present Danger

Kathy Herman

Multnomah, Apr 2007, $12.99

ISBN: 1590529219

Ivy Griffith left her hometown of Jacob's Ear, Colorado following the death of Joe Hadley. Over the years she used drugs and alcohol to bury her conscience as the pact she made with Pete Barton, Reg and Denny haunts her because she knows she should have spoken up. She sold her body to pay for drugs. Now after a decade away she calls her mom to ask if she, her seven-year-old son Montana, and a close friend, seventy-year-old Lucia Ramirez can come home. Her mom is elated and wary, but welcomes her while her dad refuses to offer encouragement as he fears she will hurt them again; Ivy has doubts too that you can't come home.

Lu is dying from leukemia so she needs someone to watch over her son while she works. Her mom jumps at the job of spending time with her grandson that she did not know existed until recently; her dad remains cold and aloof, expecting Ivy to run. Not only does she stay she obtains work as a waitress at a restaurant and avoids Pete, owner of a deli as much as possible. However, a construction team has uncovered the buried skull of Joe while digging on the Collier Ranch just prior to Ivy becoming embroiled in something as lethal.

The key to this fascinating character study is Ivy whose subsequent actions following the pivotal moment of her life seem genuine as she struggles to bury the guilt that has overwhelmed her. When she comes home with her son and her dying friend, the reactions of her parents, especially her father, also seem realistic as a decade of dysfunctional distrust does not suddenly end overnight. Though a late suspense subplot takes away from an incredibly deep family drama, Kathy Herman provides a well-written and inspirational character study.

Harriet Klausner