"A tale of a woman haunted by a horrendous past experience"

From its opening pages, Lue Christian's first fictional novel BOOMERANG, hooks its readers with a tale of a woman haunted by a horrendous past experience. Set in I'ile-aux-Coudres near Québec City, Christian conjures a good low action thriller, keeping the pages turning.

The first chapter of the book jump-starts the story, and sets the road map for what is to come. Our principal protagonist, Samantha, or as she is nicknamed Sam, receives a very disturbing phone call from someone whom she believes to be a former lover.

Sam is not quite sure what to make out of it. She fears she may be going insane. After all, her mother's younger sister had been comatose in an institution for the past twenty years. Could the voice at the other end of the phone be a figment of her imagination? Wasn't Damien, her former lover, dead?

To chill out, our protagonist sets off on long bicycle ride. Unfortunately, after being pursued by a stranger, Sam sails over an embankment, lands on a parked car, and subsequently is hospitalized.

Readers are now introduced to Dr. Paul Boucher, a friend and admirer of Sam, who plays a pivotal role in unraveling the mystery.

From here the plot thickens. We learn of Sam's husband, Harold, who has had many adulterous affairs. We also learn about the mysterious death of Harold's first wife, who supposedly committed suicide.

To add a little more meat to the saga, Max Grossman, Sam's psychoanalyst, tells her that his office had been burglarized and her file had been stolen.

Christian introduces several other characters, all depicting a certain amount of verve. Effectively interwoven into the novel, they contribute to the unraveling of a devious plot, culminating in good triumphing over evil.

Christian delivers her story in a lucid and easy to read style. However, the author stumbles in her inability to provide a believable sense of locale. I had the feeling that I was reading a story set in small town USA, rather than in Québec. It is difficult to conceive a street in Québec being called Shore Road, in view of the Province's stringent language laws. Spelling of names such as Baie-Saint-Paul as Bai Saint Paul would certainly alert Québec's "language cops!" Characters, who are purportedly French Canadian, mouth colloquial dialogue that seems more Anglophone than Francophone.

I doubt, however, notwithstanding these shortfalls, that most readers will be dissuaded to gobble up this entertaining mystery novel.

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted April 15, 2003