Review of WHEN THE STARS GO DARK by Paula McLain

 3 Stars

This was a book chosen for my book club.  I didn’t find it a tedious read but neither was I wowed by it.

The setting is 1993.  Anna Hart, who specializes in violent crimes against children, has been traumatized by a personal tragedy.  She returns to Mendocino where she lived with beloved foster parents who provided her stability and made her feel secure after a difficult childhood.  She learns about a missing teen, 15-year-old Cameron Curtis, and inserts herself into the case, partnering with Will, the town sheriff and a friend from her past.  Two other girls are reported missing in northern California, so those investigations impact the case.  Is there a connection between the cases?  Will Cameron be found alive?

In many ways this is a standard police procedural.  What is different is Anna’s insistence that they focus less on profiling the unsub and more on the victim and what might have attracted the attention of a perpetrator.  Anna expounds on how early trauma might have impacted the victim to make her especially vulnerable to a perpetrator.  Unfortunately, there is little suspense.  The outcome is predictable; certainly I identified the “bad guy” almost immediately. 

Besides the predictability of the plot, a couple of other things bothered me.  Visions and premonitions advance the investigation?  This seems a too-convenient and unconvincing plot device.  I don’t think police routinely use psychics to solve cases though that is what Anna asserts.  And this particular psychic can predict the future?!

There are some other problematic plot devices.  A perfect dog arrives at the perfect time?  Cricket is used or ignored as needed, not fully integrated into the plot.  The inevitable dangerous confrontation between Anna and the suspect is expected, but she wouldn’t be investigated for her actions that end that encounter?  What happens to Hector?  He is used at a crucial time, but then dismissed without explanation? 

I know I should have felt more empathy for Anna who has experienced unspeakable tragedy.  It’s the way in which that tragedy is and isn’t described that is the issue.  Vague hints are given about what happened, but then nothing is mentioned until the very end.  Anna is the narrator.  Surely, in the 3-week duration of the narrative, she would discuss more specifically what transpired to bring her to Mendocino.  Again, this seems like a cheap narrative trick. 

And I can understand the impulse to run away from problems, but learning about Matthew made me less sympathetic to Anna, especially considering her background of abandonment.  Considering what happened, how does she function at all?  Shouldn’t she be on mandatory leave with mandatory counseling? 

Part of the problem with Anna is that we are given so much information about her past that her personality is almost buried and we don’t get to know her as a person.  I found it difficult to connect with her.  She has a know-it-all attitude that bothers me; she believes she knows better than Will and virtually takes over the case.  She always seems to be preaching.  Then she relies on her gut feelings which usually turn out to be incorrect. 

I finished the novel, not because it was so engaging, but because I wanted to know if I had guessed correctly about the perpetrator.  Overall, it’s an undemanding read that I can only describe as unremarkable.