Introduction

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls comes a new revelation: a riveting story about the abiding yet complex power of friendship.

One beautiful September day, three men convene on Martha's Vineyard, friends ever since meeting in college circa the sixties. They couldn't have been more different then, or even today--Lincoln's a commercial real estate broker, Teddy a tiny-press publisher, and Mickey a musician beyond his rockin' age. But each man holds his own secrets, in addition to the monumental mystery that none of them has ever stopped puzzling over since a Memorial Day weekend right here on the Vineyard in 1971: the disappearance of the woman each of them loved--Jacy Calloway. Now, more than forty years later, as this new weekend unfolds, three lives are displayed in their entirety while the distant past confounds the present like a relentless squall of surprise and discovery. Shot through with Russo's trademark comedy and humanity, Chances Are . . . also introduces a new level of suspense and menace that will quicken the reader's heartbeat throughout this absorbing saga of how friendship's bonds are every bit as constricting and rewarding as those of family or any other community.
     For both longtime fans and lucky newcomers, Chances Are . . . is a stunning demonstration of a highly acclaimed author deepening and expanding his remarkable achievement.

Editorial Review

An Amazon Best Book of August 2019: In Richard Russo's Chances Are..., three men in their sixties have arrived on Martha's Vineyard for a Memorial Day weekend. They attended college together, and while the men haven't seen each other recently, they reconnect naturally, as old friends often do. Lincoln, who lives out west, is the owner of the Chilmark cottage where they are staying; Teddy is a small press publisher from Syracuse; Mickey is a musician who lives on Cape Cod. Not present, but always present in their minds, is Jacy, another college friend--and the girl they were all not-so-secretly in love with--who disappeared from the island on Memorial Day weekend in 1971. The time before she disappeared holds an important place in each man's identity and memory, and she stands as a reference point to many of their conversations and thoughts. What would Jacy think if she saw them now? one of them wonders. Three goddamn old men. But what starts off as a story about three aging baby boomers begins to open up into a mystery, as the men, especially Lincoln, try to uncover the events that led to Jacy's disappearance so long ago. This is not a full-fledged mystery novel, mind you; rather it's a thoughtful book on aging, memory, friendship, and expectation. But there is a mystery within it, and the payoff is genuinely unexpected. And Russo's observations on life are worth the ticket all by themselves. Chances Are... is a really enjoyable summer read. --Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review

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