Talk about your unreliable narrator! Wade Mitchell is rapidly losing his memory, including his recall of the hot day in August 1995 when his young wife, Jenny, murdered their 6-year-old daughter May with a backhanded blow of a hammer and 9-year-old June disappeared into the woods, never to be seen again.
Idaho is Wade’s story. And Jenny’s. And it belongs to May and to June. It is also the story of Ann, who marries Wade knowing full well she will become his helpmeet and by the end of the story, is helping Jenny as well. So many people and so much humanity, so well-presented.
Idaho is a sprawling novel, criss-crossing through time, from the early days of Wade and Jenny’s marriage and ahead to 2025, when Jenny has finally completed her sentence is emerges into a future she never thought she’d see. The characters all have their own strengths, virtues, failures, and heartbreak. Despite the profusion of characters, the various timelines, and the reluctant unveiling of the fateful day, Idaho’s narrative is easy to follow. Emotionally compelling, Ruskovich reveals the bonds of love even as it revolves around the senseless tragedy.
It is hinted – but not confirmed – that Jenny’s jealousy of Wade and suspicion of his relationship with Ann, the school music teacher was the cause of her violent act. It is also unclear where June went, or why. At age 9, what were her options? And yet the bloodhound found nothing. Readers will differ on whether the lack of a clear resolution to the mysteries makes it a better book, or a worse one. I found the book to be perfectly itself and would not have changed it.
So how does Idaho stack up to the other nominees? It is most similar to Tornado Weather in its multitude of characters and plot threads, as well as the senseless nature of the crime. And as much as I liked Tornado Weather, I found Idaho to be a much richer and deeper book. And as much as I liked Idaho, it does not have the bright edge and sharply memorable characters that I found in She Rides Shotgun. So Shotgun stays at #1 and Idaho takes the #2 spot.
Literary Lunchbox Rankings: Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Best First Novel
- She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
- Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
- Tornado Weather by Deborah E. Kennedy
- Dark Chapter by Winnie M. Li
It’s been said that your first book is always an autobiography, however well-fictionalized. For Winnie Li and 
Yes, the Mystery Writers of America have announced the nominees in all categories for fiction and nonfiction 
Literary Lunchbox Rankings: Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Best First Novel
Final Edgar Nominee: Lola
This may be Love’s first published novel, but she’s been around the block a time or two when it comes to fiction. She’s an Edgar-award nominated screenwriter who has written for TV (cop shows!), and she comes by her interest in crime fiction honestly, as she is the daughter of a police officer father and court stenographer mother.
The book is definitely cinematic – I could see it as a TV series, easily. A crime thriller, it is obviously the first in a series. The protagonist is Lola Vazquez, a young woman who grew up rough and hungry in South LA, pimped out as a young girl by her junkie mother, fiercely protective of her younger brother Hector, and live-in girlfriend of Garcia, the leader of a small gang, the Crenshaw Six. She mixes with the neighborhood women, jokes about her bad cooking and insists upon a clean kitchen, but what they don’t know is that Lola’s the true leader of the Crenshaw Six. She’s got the brains and the grit to do what needs to be done – even if it’s killing a fellow gang member or sawing through her own brother’s trigger finger to punish him for misbehavior.
When the Crenshaw Six gets its big break – a gang high up in the hierarchy of gangs gives them the opportunity to rip off an upcoming drug deal in exchange for control of more territory – it comes with a price. Do it and be rewarded. Fail, and Lola, who is considered to be Garcia’s property, will be killed. It should be no surprise that things do not go smoothly, there are multiple double-crosses, and Lola’s beloved Hector screws up, big time.
As Lola and the guys work to find the drugs and the money, the plot takes some labyrinthine turns. New characters are introduced, including an up-from-the-projects drug lord who loves his mama and thinks that kidnapping Lola’s is going to motivate her to do his bidding; a rival dealer with a love of sushi who is the first kingpin to learn that Lola’s not the girlfriend, she’s the boss (but he has her beaten to a pulp anyway, with some regret); and a married, WASPy, Starbucks-loving, Snugli-toting couple that import drugs through their beauty supply company. There’s almost too many twists and turns, but Love keeps it all straight, keeping the plot moving while the clock is ticking to one horrific deadline after another.
At the end of the day, the body count is high, but Lola has a new partnership and has earned the allegiance of some former foes. In the #metoo era, it’s definitely empowering to see a female protagonist who not only fights back, but takes the offensive. (I had the same feeling during Wonder Woman – everybody discounts her, but she prevails!)
Lola is terrifically well-presented and other characters are well-written and generally three-dimensional. The dialogue crackles, pacing is excellent, and the plot is satisfying. I’d like to read the next one and definitely want to see it on the screen (hope that Netflix and Amazon are checking it out!).
It’s a tough call about where to put Lola on the Lit Lunchbox ranking. With all it has going for it, Lola‘s definitely in the running for the top spot. Ultimately, the comparison between Lola and She Rides Shotgun simply comes down to emotional impact. Lola has shocks and thrills. She Rides Shotgun has heart. My call? She Rides Shotgun keeps the top spot. We’ll see come April 26 whether the MWA agrees with me!
Literary Lunchbox Rankings: Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Best First Novel
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Posted in Commentary, Edgar, Review
Tagged Best First Novel, Dark Chapter, Edgar, Idaho, Lola, Melissa Scrivner Love, MWA, She Rides Shotgun, Tornado Weather