OWL IN THE OAK TREE
Reagan Ramsey is a widowed mother of two who has a lot on her plate. Her son, Matthew, is lonely as he adjusts to life without his father, and her daughter, Lizzie, has Down syndrome and autism. One evening, following a rare night out for drinks at an Irish pub named Molly Malone’s, Reagan is standing in a parking lot and witnesses a drive-by shooting (“A deafening pop, pop, pop sounded, and she turned toward the noise”). While Reagan gets swept up in a police investigation, she struggles with a heady combination of fear, anxiety, and grief. Meanwhile, Jake Dekker is equally stressed. He loves his wife, Janet, but his stepson, Alex, is proving to be a problem in their marriage. Alex, after getting injured in a car accident, goes on a joyride with his friends shortly after. His pal who is driving hits a jogger with his car. The hit-and-run incident and the subsequent fear of getting caught hang over Alex like a dark cloud. Jake, who met Reagan at Molly Malone’s the night of the shooting, eventually decides to take Matthew under his wing, shouldering some of her burden while developing a positive relationship with her son. Veraar’s novel aims to shed light on how specific societal ills (namely, drugs and violence) impact families. Throughout her tale, readers see how these problems bleed into families until many members of a community are connected through trauma. The author deftly shows how such issues are compounded by the stressors of everyday life. In addition, Veraar excels at character development. Reagan, for example, is already beleaguered when she witnesses the shooting. Then her fear and paranoia escalate when she is visited by a creepy former student and Lizzie disappears. Later, Reagan begins therapy and helps out with the shooting investigation. The story’s subject matter is similarly intriguing; it is topical and relatable, particularly regarding the drug epidemic outlined in the tale. But the prose sometimes feels rudimentary and the dialogue a bit trite—Reagan at one point exclaims “Booyah!” in celebration. Still, Veraar’s story is engrossing and accessible.
