Mystery/Suspense

Jane Was Here

By: Sarah Kernochan
Publisher: Page of Wands Press, Inc.
Publication Date: June 2011
ISBN: 978-0-615-42203-9
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor
Review Date: August 2011

Hoyt Edy is a man who came from money. But because of some interesting clashes with his wealthy parents, and some unfortunate choices Hoyt made along the way, he is now considered a town drunk who makes money by being a “caretaker” for the wealthy homes in a small, New England town. His employers have been gone for ten months, but they will soon be returning to summer in the wealthy village and Hoyt needs to get himself over to the “Big House” to clean up and repair everything he let go over the winter. While he’s driving home from the bar, he suddenly sees a young woman walking down the middle of the road and swerves to avoid her…

Marly Walczak is the mother of Pearl, who is an overweight, very bitter young woman who hates her mother, but seems to be headed down the same ‘icky’ path. Marly is what most consider the town’s “lady of the evening” (to be nice, here.) Marly spends most of her time selling her body at the posh Inn she works at to the guests if they want her - and to pretty much anyone else in town who will have her. Once upon a time, that included Hoyt Edy, who she has told continuously that he is the father of her very upset girl. One night, as she’s going home from a night of drinking, partying, and offering herself up to the STD gods, she sees headlights rushing toward her….Marly and Hoyt are about to meet again.

Brett is a computer website programmer and artist from another place, who is taking care of his son, Collin, for the summer. He’s not exactly a father who really cares much about his son, but the mother of the boy wants to get rid of him and gives him over to Brett. Soon, Brett ends up renting a small home in a tiny New England town whose history is based on a stunning glass factory that once stood, and its rich - odd - owners, who made the town what it is today.

Brett is trying to have some sort of relationship with his son, but what he never expected was to start having nightmares about a Reverend and a dying man. Nor did he expect to look out the window one night to see a pale girl, looking completely lost. As she knocks on his door, she announces that her name is Jane, and that the house he is staying in is hers. She doesn’t remember anything about herself, except the fact that she knows she was born in his rented house.

As the story goes on, readers find that Jane comes from a historical era that included The Glass Factory at its height. She also has something to do with an old religious cult that used to stay in the vicinity of the small town. As history unfolds, Brett, his son, a strange little girl whose parents own a hotel, and the other ‘colorful’ townspeople, all find themselves in a chilling mystery that completely surrounds the girl named Jane.

The author has written thrills and chills on the pages of this novel. The characters are a bit ‘much’ on the slime side, and sometimes take a bit away from the dark, eerie mystery that is trying to play out, but the story, itself, is something that will keep readers up all night - not wanting to shut the light off AT ALL! This author has had a stunning career - garnering two Academy Awards for her outstanding documentaries, and she has certainly created a “Small Town New England” that you would never want to visit.

Quill Says: A bone-chilling story with many different avenues, encompassing a great many lives in a very small, eerie area.