Adam Mitzner’s newest release, The Girl From Home, is a thought provoking, suspenseful novel. It may not contain as much courtroom drama as his prior books, but it is still a dramatic legal thriller that first draws you into the hight powered world of Wall Street then suddenly sets you down into small town America.
Jonathan Caine, a money manager flying high with success, would seem to be an accurate representation of a financier on such an upward climb. His motto, “I want what I want” fits him well. His job is all consuming and his personal life reflects that. He wants more, insists on more. Perhaps that imbalance is what makes the character one sided, self centered, and in some ways unemotional—at first.
Like him or not, you have to admire his perseverance. Using hedge funds to provide higher and riskier returns, he is all too often on the edge between total failure and huge success. That edge can take him to the line of legality as well.
He is a fighter, through the downturns in markets, through client redemptions, even through job loss. Not one to give up, he moves quickly ahead to what’s next, rather than accept the panic that might overcome many.
Yet that is only the beginning of Jonathan’s story. As we often see, success that risky can collapse in a moment. So it does for Jonathan Caine.
It’s quite a character study. Each page influences our feelings for Mr. Caine. Is change possible after the life he has led for so long?
What Comes Next?
What would you do if you were riding high one day, your work your life, and find the next day you were homeless, penniless, and jobless. How do you start again?
The book travels back and forth to current and near future. The collapse takes Jonathan home, that is, to his father’s home. After the years of success, he is back to a small town world where he reconnects not only with some old friends, his father who now has dementia, but also with Jackie, the high school prom queen he admired from afar years past. The reader grows attached to Jonathan as he begins to consider how he has lived his life.
Small town doesn’t always mean simple. The prom queen has problems of her own trapped in an abusive marriage. Their growing relationship doesn’t simplify her life either.
A Convenient Murder
What starts as a financial thriller, becomes a murder mystery that intensifies dramatically.
Different parts of the book will have different impacts on each reader. Personally with the tension that built toward around the murder investigation was striking. The distrust between Jonathan and Jackie, the influence of the police, the attorneys, everyone, on their choices, left me anxious to finish the book quickly.
The author still isn’t finished with us. There is more to come. The story leads up to a stunning and clever conclusion that may take you totally by surprise.
Long After The Story Ends
There are many facets to dwell on within the story: Jonathan’s relationship with his father, when he decided at a young age he would not be weak like his father. His placement of blame when he was young. Is the driving need to succeed worth what you sacrifice? Even the question of how to get back up when you fall.
Then, of course, it brings to the forefront the terror of spousal abuse. Even today one enduring abuse feels trapped. The police are unable to be there 24/7. Too often it is after the abuse. It is hard for women to break away. Between threats of harm, death, or loss of custody of children, it isn’t as easy as, “just leave.”
The story and those thoughts have stayed with me, even after finishing the book. That is something always appreciated in a good story.
Available in Audio Too
It is always a pleasure to find a favorite author is publishing in audio as well. The Audible version of Mr. Mitzner’s first book, A Conflict of Interest, was a bestselling debut. Click here to listen to a sample of The Girl from Home, narrated by Jonathan Walker.
Whether you read or listen, you will enjoy this well done, suspenseful book. Mr Mitzner is a wonderful, effective writer who pens a delightfully complicated novel.
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