Beyond Reach

by:

Slaughter, Karin

Publisher:

Dell, Random House, Inc

Location:

New York, NY

2007

Cover:

Patrice Sheridan

Type:

Paperback

reviewed by:

Lynard Barnes

1/2/2009

Comment:

Medical Examiner Sara Linton assists husband, Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver, attempt to clear one of his detectives, Lena Adams, of a crime.

As those of you know who follow Trices Book Review Journal we do not follow authors, we follow ideas. Karen Slaughter's BEYOND REACH is a stimulating slice of fiction with a conventional treatment of an idea that goes just far enough beyond the conventional to be insightful. Any writing, whether fiction, expository or the lyrical poetic, that opens vistas to new perspectives is worth reading. BEYOND REACH is in this category.

The main characters of BEYOND REACH are wallowing in troubles. Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver is called upon to exonerate one of his detectives, Lena Adams, accused of murder in a far away town. Medical examiner Sara Linton, the seemingly reluctant wife of Tolliver, is mulling the consequences of a medical malpractice lawsuit. She accompanies her husband to Reese, Georgia where all their troubles coalesce in a drama spanning 576 page. By the end, more trouble emerges for Sara Linton, the heroine of the Sara Linton sagas.

Though certainly not the most interesting character in this novel, Detective Lena Adams is the pivotal force moving the story. She finds herself in trouble because of her inability to step back from herself and assess. Hers is a character driven by circumstance. She does not create circumstances nor necessarily respond to circumstances. Instead she is buffeted by the multi-piston engine of circumstance while remaining locked tightly within herself. Such a character is the antithesis of the dramatic. No gain, just the pain. Raised by her uncle, she is still mourning the death of her twin sister who died six years earlier. It is to visit this uncle, Hank, and the convergence of troubles in the town of Reese that unfolds as drama.

In BEYOND REACH, we learn that the early life of Lena Adams is an edifice built around a scaffold of lies heaped upon her as "protection". The over-riding question for the reader is whether that scaffold explains the predicament of Lena Adam being the prime suspect in a murder investigation. A smart, aggressive woman, she is not liked by the wife of her boss, Sara. The boss, Police Chief Tolliver, feels an affinity for Adams that he does not put into words. He does know there is a problem however. He was previously called upon to send

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her "ex-boyfriend, ex-felon, ex-neo-Nazi" back to prison.

It may or may not have been by design that Slaughter is mum on the affinity Chief Tolliver has for Lena Adams. But in BEYOND REACH, by not offering readers something to hang an opinion on, the author makes the story more compelling as real life. (You have to read Slaughter's other Sara Linton saga, INDELIBLE, to get material for "informed speculation" on the loyalty Chief Tolliver has for his down-beat detective). Detective Adams becomes an empathic character early on when she warns Chief Tolliver and Sara to leave Reese immediately for their own safety. She does this from a hospital bed where she is recovering from injuries sustained after a car exploded. The car had been set on fire with a body inside. Why does she issue the warning to leave? Compassion for the Chief and Sara? The warning is reminiscent of scenes in horror movies in which the unknowing are warned of the body-snatchers. Fear, compassion, and ignorance of "what's out there". Lena's warning has all the trappings. But there is something more. By the end of the novel, we realize that the warning was just another layer of scaffolding on Lena Adam's life. Good intentions with irrelevant consequences adding fuel for the journey into self-destruction.

Strong characters spiraling into the abyss of self-destruction always have plenty of anchors to grab onto to abort the descent. Detective Lena Adams is no exception. But--and this is the fresh perspective the author adds to the scenario--the anchors themselves may be on their own journey toward self-destruction. Destruction of a marriage for instance.

While Detective Lena Adams languishes as an action-character doing battle with herself, Chief Tolliver and wife Sara Linton morph into two people sharing a life and a marriage. They end up that way, but they too are individually tempted to become self-obsessed, to narrow their focus. The author's crafting lets us appreciate the conflicting emotions drawing Tolliver and Sara into the drama surrounding Adams. Their journey, condensed and telescoped into a story-line with flashbacks, blends into the storm that is the life of Lena Adams. The good intentions of Chief Tolliver and begrudging assistance of wife Sara saves Lena. But there are consequences. The parallel trajectory of destruction, both aborted, gives pause for thought.

BEYOND REACH is fiction at its best. Entertaining and thought provoking.

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