BOOK REVIEW: Whistling in the Dark

There is something about an author using a ten-year-old protagonist that attracts a reader. It has been done often. Maybe it is the combination of innocence and wisdom that captures our imagination; or maybe it is that loss of innocence itself. Whatever the reason, Lesley Kagen has done it beautifully in her WHISTLING IN THE DARK. It is impossible not to get involved in young Sally O’Malley’s life.

Sally’s beloved father has died causing Sally, her two sisters, Troo and Nell, and their mother to move from their farm into town. Shortly after the move, the mother remarries. She becomes ill and has to go into the hospital. The new stepfather proves to be a cruel drunk who leaves the girls to fend for themselves.

Thus starts Sally’s story. She had promised her father before he died that she would take care of Troo and would tell their mother that he forgave her. Older sister Nell is busy making out with her boyfriend and stepfather Hall is soon out of their lives. This leaves Sally and Troo on their own.

The year is 1959. A time when children were free to play outdoors until after dark, neighbors’ doors were always open, two extra mouths at the dinner table was accepted and winning a coon skin hat was a big thing to a young girl. It was also the year that people on Vliet Street started locking their doors. Someone was molesting and killing young girls. Sally is not only sure of who the murderer is, she is sure that she is going to be the next victim.

The plot of WHISTLING IN THE DARK sounds as if it would be fairly straightforward, but author Lesley Kagen has some neat surprises for the reader. The residents of the town came very much alive and as we learned about them we felt that we also were residents of a small town in the late 1950’s.

My idea of who was the guilty person kept changing (though I never agreed with Sally’s choice). No sooner would I have my suspect than the author would throw a new twist  into the plot.

The identification of the murder is only one of the reasons that you will have trouble putting this delightful book down. The underlying secrets of people that you thought that you knew are revealed slowly throughout the story making this a warm page-turner. It also gives me a new author to keep my eye out for.