Intercessions - Kathleen Eull

 

Intercessions, a crime novel about two young girls who are approached by a pervert while walking two school one morning, is author Kathleen Eull's debut novel. The attack on the girls is a horrific one, to be sure, but instead of taking the more common path of carrying readers along as law enforcement officers try to identify and apprehend the killer, Eull chose instead to focus on the surviving victim and what the girl's life  becomes in the aftermath of the abduction and murder of her best friend. Narrator Corianne Dempsey, now a young woman, unreliable as her testimony can at times be, makes it very clear that she has never felt safe again since the moment she began to run back home in complete panic - nor does she ever expect to feel safe again. 

On the first few anniversaries of the murder, as the townspeople gather to remember the young victim,  Corianne's mother brings her for a few days stay at the remote farm belonging to Evie, her own girlhood best friend, and the woman's husband, Bill. Here, Corianne comes closest to finding the kind of peace she can only dream about at home. Over a number of years, before the visits abruptly stop, Corianne develops a disturbing crush on Bill, one that the man finds it more and more difficult to ignore or hide. 

Years later, Corianne is again so plagued by overly realistic nightmares that she finds it almost impossible to sleep. Her long-term relationship with her boyfriend is splintering before her eyes, she is more and more reclusive every day, and her therapist is unable to help her. In desperation, Corianne decides that surprise visit to Bill and Evie's farm is exactly what she needs if she is ever to regain control of her life. At the farm, with Bill's help and guidance, Corianne begins to sort through her childhood memories hoping to determine how much of what she remembers is true - and how much is not. What really happened that day?

Intercessions is an impressive debut that reminds readers just how literary in nature crime fiction can be when it is in the right hands. Eull has created memorable characters here that become more and more realistic as their flaws are exposed over time. All of them are dealing with struggles of their own, and their actions directly reflect those internal struggles. As Eull, reminds us, crime victims are not limited to the obvious ones. The ultimate impact of the crime recounted in Intercessions is staggering. 

Kathleen Eull jacket photo

(Intercessions will be published by Black Rose Writing on November 22, 2023.)