One thought on “Praise for Elsie’s Business”

1. As a longtime fan of mystery writing, I was anxious to read this book. It is also exciting to read something so newly published. The web of life in this story is really quite profound. Though Elsie is a quiet, unassuming person who is simply trying to salvage some remnants of peace and pleasure out of her life, she has a lasting effect on a myriad of people, good and bad alike. Her story hangs over this geographical area like a black cloud. It won’t go away because the answers are never there. The people of the area want Elsie to be just another insignificant person, someone you can ignore. But instead, she looms very large in trying to make sense of life. Her influence weaves its way through the area very like a spider’s web and that web catches everyone up in it.
   Who is this mysterious person who narrates this story? The second person narration is disconcerting at first but soon becomes rather comfortable. For me, it felt as if I had been personally drawn into the story, as if I am also sitting in that worn living room drinking Oscar’s burnt coffee. Frances Washburn has done an excellent job of making this narration effective. I struggled for a while with the identity of the narrator. I thought at first it could be an investigative journalist, then possibly some level of law enforcement. Finally, it began to occur to me that it could be her father. The other two possibilities lost credibility when it became clear this person is much more personally connected to Elsie, wanting to exhume the body and take it for reburial.
   Frances Washburn has also done an excellent job of presenting very human characters, none of whom are without flaws. These are people of small towns where everyone knows everyone else’s business, where wants and needs are simple but stories and lives can be very complex. Father Horst tries very hard to shepherd his flock but he also struggles with his own personal demons. He finds the burdens of this parish weigh very heavily on him. Nancy tries to be Elsie’s friend and finds it is not always an easy task. Elsie doesn’t really know how to be a friend or how to accept kindness, especially from white people. Donald is a womanizer and heavy drinker but when there is work to be done, he works hard. He loves Nancy but he is unable to conquer his vices. John Caulfield is also a heavy drinker and is well aware of his mean streak and his potential ability to harm those he cares about, even Elsie, a lost soul like himself. He loves Elsie in his own way but both of them are so damaged that a life together is not in the cards. And, in the end, even Jack Mason, a man held up throughout the book as a menacing tyrant, is simply human, broken by more grief than one man should have to bear. He simply wants Elsie’s story to go away, fade into obscurity, and never rise up around him again. The reader almost feels sorry it won’t happen that way. Elsie’s assault and then her murder will remain in the lore of this area forever.
   Oscar appears to be the anchor of this storytelling. He is an elderly, lovable Indian man who knows of both Indian and white ways. He believes in the old way of storytelling—slow and interspersed with other stories until finally the story you seek is there. He gently guides the narrator on a journey of self-discovery while he is telling him Elsie’s story. It is my belief the narrator comes away a better person even though he does not find all the answers he hoped to find. Oscar’s quiet wisdom and unflinching kindness provide the solid foundation for the telling of what is a heartbreaking story. When the scene moves back into his home periodically it is like taking a breath, refortifying you for what is yet to come.
   The author has left the reader with unanswered, burning questions. Who is the mummified infant? Is there another child—alive or dead? Who killed Elsie—John, Donald, Jack, maybe even Nancy or the priest? Some of these possibilities seem ridiculous but none are implausible. I am left hoping for a sequel in order to know more about how this story unfolds. I like these people and wish for some closure for them—perhaps not a rosy, too-good-to-be-true kind of ending but at least answers to some of the burning questions. Wow!! This is a remarkable book and I really like it!!

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