An intricate and mysterious account of several people in New Zealand and Great Britain whose lives become intertwined through fate, happenstance, and human error. Antipodean second-novelist Chidgey (after the Orange Prize-nominated In a fishbone church), like most inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere, is conscious of the quirks of geography. The great eclipse of the sun that took place in 1988 in New Zealand made those faraway islands, for a short time, into a major tourist attraction for Europeans and other northern folk-like Patrick Mercer, a British medievalist who flew down and had a brief affair with a woman named Colette whom he befriended there. Eleven years later, Patrick has a serious car accident and ends up in the hospital, where he remains unconscious for some time. Friends ("The Friends of Patrick Mercer") look after him and begin sending letters describing his recovery to Colette Hawkins, a university student in New Zealand who has never met Patrick at any time in her life. Or has she? Colette is able to live with mysteries better than most, and she babysits for Malcolm and Ruth Pearse, whose older daughter disappeared without a trace in 1988. Colette traveled throughout Europe some years earlier with her boyfriend Justin Warwick. Did she meet this Patrick Mercer then? Although she has no recollection of him, her curiosity becomes stronger and stronger as the letters continue to arrive. Ruth Pearse, meanwhile, remains understandably obsessed with the fate of her daughter-and she disappears herself one night. Is there some common thread here-other than Colette? What ties these random people together? Well you might ask. A disappointment: Chidgey's US debut is nicely set up but badly executed, this seems to promise a resolution that never arrives.

In New Zealand writer Chidgey's second novel, a finally crafted tale, she explores the connected lives of three families. Ruth and Malcolm struggle with the disappearance of their teenage daughter, Laura. Colette, a college student, removes herself from her mother's world and ends up baby-sitting for Ruth and Malcolm's young son. Patrick, a medieval scholar, lies in a hospital in England. Chidgey shifts back and forth between these loosely, even strangely, connected characters; tosses in the odd comment from Laura's killer; focuses her tale on her characters' complex interior lives; and uses powerful symbols to embody the novel's themes and underlying meaning. Keys, gardens, books, lanterns, even spaces, even the way the ink from the newspaper in which Malcolm reads stories about his daughter leaves imprints on the sheets that cover him and his wife--all become emblems in Chidgey's mysterious world and provide subtle illuminations. Chidgey's inconclusive novel will not appeal to all, but those looking for a study more than a story will be richly rewarded. --Neal Wyatt

This second novel (after Orange nominee In a Fishbone Church) from a well-regarded New Zealand novelist begins with a description of the widely publicized 1988 solar eclipse, visible from Australia and New Zealand, which brings about changes in the lives of two people in different parts of the world. One is 15-year-old New Zealander Laura, who disappears without a trace, and the other is middle-aged British medievalist Patrick Mercer, who decides to end his 15-year marriage. These two events strongly influence the novel's other central characters, including Laura's parents, who never fully recover from their daughter's disappearance, and 21-year-old Colette, who, 12 years later, is a student living on her own for the first time in a new city. This intriguing novel moves back and forth in time, and its ominous undertone shows how loss tends to frame a person's life. While some of the characters' backgrounds seem stereotypical, there are enough secrets and revelations to hold one's interest until the final pages. Strongly recommended to public libraries for both fiction and mystery fans. Maureen Neville, Trenton P.L., NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this spellbinding take on "six degrees of separation" (originally published as Golden Deeds in the writer's native New Zealand), Chidgey conducts a symphony of crossed destinies with sophistication and compassion. Intertwining several themes the distance between strangers, the intimacy of lovers, the endurance of memory she follows the fates of seemingly unconnected characters. Colette, a New Zealand college student leaving her broken home for the first time, begins receiving mysterious letters from the Friends of Patrick Mercer in England. They inform her of Patrick's slow progress after a near-fatal car crash. She has no idea who Patrick is, but she's curious and awaits each letter with eager anticipation. Meanwhile, Patrick, in his coma, recalls his childhood dreams and disappointments and his budding interest in medieval manuscripts, which eventually become his life's work. Back in New Zealand, Colette now baby-sits for the young son of Malcolm and Ruth Pearse, who are trying to continue their shattered lives several years after the unsolved disappearance of their teenage daughter, Laura. Chidgey strings together her diverse characters and crisscrossing plot lines with deft economy, building a mesmerizing narrative that's capped by an ingenious twist. Chidgey's first novel, In a Fishbone Church, was nominated for the Orange Prize; this intensely imagined narrative should also win critical raves. (Mar. 1) Forecast: A blurb from Nick Hornby will catch the attention of readers on the lookout for fresh talent. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved