My mother read REEF ROAD and gave it just one star. I don't know why. I disagree. This story is a very good mystery and clever, besides.

Linda, the wife of gorgeous, well-to-do Miguel from Argentina and the mother of two young children, is dissatisfied with her marriage. One day a man makes a surprise visit to their home in Palm Beach, Florida. He turns out to be Miguel's long-lost brother, Diego, now an illegal immigrant. Diego stays in hiding in their home for a year, during which time Linda and he have an affair.

Interspersed with these "The Wife" chapters told in third person are "A Writer's Thoughts" chapters told in first person by Noelle, the fictitious, crazy writer, not Deborah Goodrich Royce. (In other words, Noelle is the writer who Royce has invented for our story.) These are the chapters that might have caused my mother's low rating. It is only after reading several of these chapters that you will know for sure the connection between the writer and the wife. I, however, had no problem with this organization. I just went along with it. My mother didn't like trying to figure it out. I did.

You shouldn't know more of the story ahead of time. Royce's organization of "The Wife" chapters and "A Writer's Thoughts" chapters is her clever way to keep you surprised. You need to learn the story as she presents it.

However, I will admit that the organization sometimes seemed choppy. And that, I'm sure, is what my mother's low rating was for. Whereas many authors successfully write books with two different timelines, REEF ROAD's dates seem scattered in the first half of the book. "The Wife" chapters have specific dates, not just years or even months and years. And those specific dates go back and forth so much that I had to keep paging back to remind myself what the wife knew and did when. That was kind of a pain in the neck but not enough for me to lower my rating.

You should agree with me that REEF ROAD is a clever mystery. I would like to know, though, Diego's story, of his past and of where he went with and what he did with Linda's kids. Royce needs to write another book about him.

Reef Road, Deborah Goodrich Royce, Saskia Maarleveld, narrator
Are the sins of the father (and mother), visited upon the sons (and daughters), brothers and sisters? In this book, all seem to pay the price for their ancestor’s wrongdoing. Revenge that is nursed over decades, for past behavior and crimes, takes its toll on the characters. The book is set in Palm Beach, known for its wealthy and elite, but I think it could have been set in Anywhere, USA. It was more about the people, than the place, though each location had its own personality, like San Miguel de Allende, known for its artistic community, and Argentina, perhaps best known for the corruption of the Perons and the tragedy of the “disappeared”.
In 1948, 12-year-old Noelle Huber is brutally murdered, and the murder remains unsolved. Noelle’s best friend Liz Ritenour, (Liz/Beth), was traumatized by the violent loss of her friend, and she never fully recovers from the shock or the fear it engendered. When she marries, she names her only child Noelle, after her beloved friend. Noelle and her mother are both diagnosed with a Borderline Personality Disorder. Noelle grows up to become a well-known author, but she is infected with her mother’s pain. She carries her mother’s fear and memory of the tragic death of her best friend, into the future, and it becomes the subject of her book. Neither the namesake Noelle, or her mom, were emotionally able to deal with the death of the 12-year-old Noelle. Noelle searched for a way to avenge her mother’s dysfunction, for most of her life, Their two lives were thus destroyed by the unresolved sins of the past.
Fast forward, to the present day. We are introduced to Linda Alonso, nee Huber. Her father Matthew, is the brother of the murdered 12-year-old, Noelle. Linda is married to the man she thought was the love of her life, Miguel Alonso, but she has since become disenchanted with him. He appears to be very controlling and is sometimes angry and violent. She has two children, Espie and Diego (Gogo), named for her husband’s long-lost brother, presumed dead for two decades. The Alonso past is also scarred, and Miguel’s life is directly affected by that violence. Although the corruption and violence of Argentina are only briefly covered in the novel, the information about the “disappeared” is a compelling part of it.
One day, around 2019, Linda meets an older woman, a well known author, who befriends her and soon becomes her stalker. It turns out, this woman is also named Noelle. She soon finds out that this Noelle is the daughter of her murdered Aunt Noelle’s traumatized best friend. She suspects their new friendship is contrived, but she is lonely and longs for someone to talk to about her problems. Soon, she reveals far too much to this stranger. Recently, her husband’s brother, Diego Alonso, presumed dead for the past two decades, has turned up on her doorstep. They were having an affair under her husband’s and his brother’s nose. When tragedy occurs, Diego leaves the United States, with her two children, supposedly to escape to Argentina where she will meet him at the end of the pandemic. She cannot travel because of the Covid pandemic’s travel restrictions. She meets a police officer and tells him about her plight, in a story she makes up. Between her relationship with Diego, and the affair she begins with Michael Collins, a cop temporarily separated from his wife and two children, Linda’s life begins to unravel. Add her aunt’s namesake, Noelle, to this mix, and we watch a woman destroy herself, but is she truly responsible for her undoing or has she been totally manipulated by circumstances, people, and more importantly, the sins of the fathers of the past? The innocent and the guilty are forced to pay for the manipulations of the mentally unstable and criminal minds.
The book is told in two voices. One is Linda’s, The Wife, and the other is Noelle’s, The Writer’s Thoughts. Is Linda an innocent victim? Noelle thinks Linda is manipulative? Is it the other way around? Who is evil and who is innocent in this novel? It is hard to tell, but all the characters are tainted by something that has previously happened. It seems that all of them must suffer for the sins of the past and must make recompense in the present.
The book is written at the time that the Covid virus descends upon the country, Although, almost used merely as a descriptive of the time period, it does affect Linda’s life in a major way. Is it nature’s way of demanding justice for its environmental abuse, or is it a man-made device demanding society pay for the ills it commits.
Sins, secrets and lies move the narrative as vengeance is sought. Will there also be redemption?
Because the narrative moves back and forth between two people, and sometimes two-time frames, it is sometimes confusing. The line between the innocent and the aggressor is often muddled and difficult to discern. However, the book is creative and engaging as the mysteries are resolved.