Reunion At Red Paint Bay

(Paperback)

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Description

Red Paint calls itself 'the friendliest town in Maine', a place where everyone knows one another and nothing too disturbing ever happens. Native son Simon Howe is a sturdy family man-a good father and husband-and owner-editor of the town's newspaper. One day Simon's predictable and peaceful life is disrupted by the arrival of an anonymous postcard, the first in a series of increasingly menacing messages. He tries to ignore them, but the implied danger becomes more real. Secrets from Simon's past are uncovered, escalating toward an unexpected climax.

Reviews

Harrar tacklessome big issues here, notably vengeance, guilt, and absolution, with the underlying question of when sex becomes rape. But messages aside, this is tightly written psychological suspense from the author of The Spinning Man (2003). Harrar is one of those writers on the verge of connecting with a much larger audience; this could be his moment.Booklist

Harrar skillfully echoes Alfred Hitchcocks theme about how a seemingly innocent man can be sucked into a disturbing vortex of forces that lie just below the surface of normal life.Kirkus

"More than a conventional mystery or thriller, "Reunion at Red Paint Bay" lays bare the consequences of guilt, denial, and moral absolutism. The novel can be read on several levels, but it devolves into a book tailored to spur readers into examining the limits of responsibility for one's actions." Huntington News

George Harrar tells a remarkable story about a newspaperman who struggles to tell the truth, feeling reluctant to bear the consequences, a story of human failure and hard redemption. The writing, razor-sharp and wildly insightful, creates characters who seem to jump off the pagebecoming people we know, people we are. Read this book, each page mysterious and compelling, hiding within it the deep core of being human. Elizabeth Cox, author of The Slow Moon

"Harrar's novel...is an intriguing and provocative take on some standard themes of contemporary fiction....Reunion at Red Paint Bay is well written even if it invites controversy and criticism. It is a memorable work that could spur some heated debate." Metapsychology

"Secrets can haunt us. In George Harrar's novel Reunion At Red Paint Bay, secrets hunt us down for revenge."Interview Magazine

"This is a gripping thriller, utterly convincing and alarming, as people struggle to justify past deeds, weigh the costs of the truth and decide that maybe a half-lie is just as good." Bill Bushnell, Morning Sentinel (Waterville, Maine)

"Ironies abound here in this suspenseful study of universal themes of guilt, innocence, punishment, atonement, and absolution as seen through the seemingly simple life of a hitherto respected man in Red Paint Bay." Seeing the World Through Books

"George Harrars incisive look at the soft-focus lens through which we view our respective pasts" Book Page

"The story resolution is quite wrenching. To say more would be to spoil a good read...It's a great tale of moral consequences, ethical dilemmas, differing perspectives, secrets, guilt and absolution." Tutu's Two Cents

Author Bio

"George Harrar is the author of two novels for adults, including the literary mystery The Spinning Man. Among his dozen published short stories, The 5-22 won the prestigious Carson McCullers Prize and was selected for The Best American Short Stories 1999. Harrar lives west of Boston with his wife, Linda, a documentary filmmaker. Their son, Tony, was the inspiration for Harrars award-winning novel for middle-grade readers titled Parents Wanted, published by Milkweed Editions."