STARVATION LAKE

Hockey as a metaphor for life? If so, then Bryan Gruley scores a “hat trick” in his fast-paced, powerful novel. Rich Orlow’s appealing narration adds the finesse. After failing in Detroit as a journalist, Gus Carpenter returns to his Michigan hometown and becomes editor of the local newspaper. Ten years earlier, the much-loved high school hockey coach disappeared after his snowmobile sank beneath the ice of Starvation Lake. Now pieces of his snowmobile are found—in a different lake, miles from the scene, revealing a bullet hole. Facts skitter in all directions, the mystery deepens, and Orlow beautifully captures the sense of a small town hunkering down to hide its tightly closeted skeletons and the pervasive sense of menace lurking behind almost every smile. Strong listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2011]