Murder in Pastel by Colin Dunne

Rating: **** Reviewer: Meg

The lovely, fluid style of this writer is worth reading all by itself, but the complex characterizations developed over the course of the book, make it fascinating. The complexities are so great that there are naturally some loose ends which make the reader want to learn more about these people (perhaps in another book?). The main character who tells the story in first person is Kyle Bari, the mystery writer son of painter Cosmo Bari who disappeared ten years ago and left so many unanswered questions and suspicions both within his son's mind and within the minds of the members of the beachside artists' colony of Steeple Hill. As Kyle begins a journey to solve the puzzle of his father's disappearance, old wounds are opened and old enmities are awakened. As the book opens Kyle has many questions about his father. He was young when his father left one day, never to return, so much of what he knows and learns has come from other people who, like the witnesses in Rashomon, have different memories and perspectives of the controversial painter. Kyle has to piece together the history of the disappearance, because, even as his father vanished, so did his most famous painting, Virgin in Pastel. In the minds of many in the community the two losses are connected, but, as Kyle finds, the situation is vastly complex involving many players from the past, some of whom he barely knows. Kyle's investigation into his past is provoked by the return after a ten year absence of the owner of the next beachside cottage, Adam McKinnon, a man eight years older than Kyle, a friend of his father, and Kyle's first and only true love. Kyle's feelings for Adam began when he was thirteen. Although Adam reciprocated them, he held back because of Kyle's age. Kyle's father encouraged the restraint as did other friends, so Adam stayed away from the boy. Kyle interpreted Adam's "aloofness" as disinterest. His suspicions were confirmed when Adam suddenly left Steeple Hill just as Kyle turned seventeen. Now, with Adam's return ten years later, Kyle finds he needs to resolve these questions about the relationship with the man for whom he has been waiting (perhaps not conciously) all this time. The book delves deeply into the conflicts between two men ten years apart in age, who have cared for one another through the adolescence of the younger one and now meet as two adults. They have to resolve how they see one another. Can Kyle see Adam as a lover rather than as an older role model, semi father figure, or big brother? Can Adam see Kyle as an adult who makes independent decisions and who expects equal treatment? The author treats these issues with sensitivity and an appreciation for the detailed complexities of such a pairing. How do they conquer their early history? How do they satisfy one another's curiosity about the intervening ten years? Where are they now? As they negotiate cautiously toward resolution, we see the old love develop into something new and mature. Before I get too involved in Kyle and Adam, I should remember that this is a murder mystery and it is in the solution to the murder and the puzzle of his father's disappearance that Kyle finds many of the answers to his questions. He discovers that assumptions he's made were incorrect, that the perceptions of those who love him are not to be trusted in some instances, and ultimately that memory and reality are often very different. The writer's style deserves more mention.In this quote which explains it better than I can, Kyle finds a drawing of himself as a boy done by Adam. "Brett opened the book and a folded square of of thin drawing paper glided to a stop on the table. I picked up the yellowed paper, unfolded it. Two pieces of paper, actually. I studied them, my throat knotting up. The first showed a boy of sixteen sleeping in the grass; a graceful sprawl of long limbs, angular features, tumbled hair. There was a good deal of tenderness in the portrayal of too-thin, too sensitive face relaxed and dreaming. The second sketch was a head study. Same youth: wide eyes and childish mouth; the hollows and delicate bone structure of a child who had been ill a long time and was still fragile. Moreover, it was the face of someone in love as only an adolescent can be, intensely and vulnerably." Revelation comes to Kyle in many ways, through the art of the past, through perceptions and memories of friends and through his own deeply troubled dreams and ingrained, flawed assumptions. The characters are sympathetic and their issues gripping; it is easy to fall in love with them. I wished the book were longer, that we found out more about Adam and that we saw the relationship work itself through over a longer period of time. In a nutshell, I wanted more! I read it during a rainy afternoon here in the Northeast and was swept away to the sunny June beaches, the artists' cottages, the gardens, and the sea air.The book reflects the romance of California's sand, sun and surf and is a complete sort of read, well rounded with fascinating characters and exciting mystery and romance.

Thanks to Keith at www.keithcam.com for use of the image.