Jennifer Finney Boylan
expected publication date: 11 April 2017
3/5 stars
In 1980, six friends enter the ruins of a state prison, but only five leave. The mystery of what happened to the sixth is finally solved 35 years later when bones are found in the ruins. When one of her friends is accused of murder, Judith knows she can prove his innocence, but to do so would be to reveal secrets of her own.
This book is not a mystery--the answer of "who dunnit" is given half way through the book--but is supposed to be a character study of how events shape us. The focus is on Judith, who made the biggest change, but her changes were not made because of the events of that night. The other friends really don't seem to have been propelled on trajectories as a result of the incident, either. In fact, they seemed much the same as when they were college students. On the whole, I didn't feel this novel fulfilled it's role as a character study.
The plot was interesting, but not compelling. The writing was good, but not outstanding. Judith's character was well fleshed and I enjoyed the parts of the story told from her first-person perspective. The rest of the story, told from third-person about the other characters, just didn't feel as alive or even connected. In addition, the switches between point-of-view, time, and/or place were not always smooth.
Long Black Veil is easy and quick to read, and brings up some interesting discussion points, but overall does not meet it's full potential and, as a result, is an average novel instead of a great one.
