When Ghosts Come Home, Wiley Cash, author; J. D. Jackson, narrator
Winston Barnes is the sheriff in Oak Island, North Carolina. The year is 1984, and Reagan is running for President, which doesn’t please everyone. Similarly, the sheriff’s election is also taking place in about a week. A young, spoiled, rich candidate, Bradley Frye, is running against Winston, and Winston fully expects to lose. He has been in office for 12 years starting when he was only 48 years old. He particularly fears the election loss because he will lose his medical insurance coverage for his wife. Marie is suffering from a recurrence of her cancer. Also, his daughter has just returned home after she suffered the birth of a stillborn child. She is grieving and questioning her relationship with her husband Scott Banks.
Winston is honest and forthright, and he is largely unaware of the animus some in his jurisdiction feel toward him and toward people of color, to whom they refer with pejoratives. Sadly, he will soon find out.
One night, the sound of a low flying plane awakens many of the residents near the airport. Did a plane crash there? Sheriff Barnes is on call, and although Marie begs him to send someone else, he goes out to investigate. He finds an abandoned, empty plane which has sustained some minor damage. Oddly, there is no one around and there are no fingerprints to be found anywhere on the plane. Also, the plane is empty of seats, so it must have carried some cargo that was offloaded. On this night, he also makes a terrible discovery. He and his deputy notice the body of a young, black man lying close to the plane. It is the son of the only black teacher in the area, and he has obviously been murdered, but why? Rodney Bellamy is the son of Ed Bellamy, the high school history teacher; His wife Janelle has only recently given birth to their infant son. He was on an errand to pick up diapers for the baby when this occurred.
The man running against Winston Bradley Frye, shows up. He is his usual arrogant self and makes uncalled for demands. He swaggers around with a gun on his hip, already assuming he is the next sheriff. He points fingers at the black residents and claims the strange plane that has awakened so many must have been carrying drugs. He believes that they are responsible, and he spreads the word that they are troublemakers and criminals. He uses a pejorative to refer to the dead man, an honest, hard working man , not a drug dealer or a criminal. His wife’s brother Jay, was living with him because he had gotten into some trouble back home. He had started to hang with a young boy named Kelvin, who was a troublemaker. Jay was easily influenced by him to break the law. Wanting to be accepted can lead to foolish behavior and a need for revenge can, as well. It was hoped that Rodney and Janelle, his sister, would be a better influence on Jay, but he felt abandoned and alone.
This author has the gift of storytelling and I eagerly await each new one he writes. This one is not less impressive. It reveals itself quietly, without fanfare, almost conversationally, as the town’s workings and relationships are revealed. It is a mystery, but it is about relationships, as well. Family dynamics and the complications from choices that they encourage are a major part of the story. Reactions to the grief associated with the loss of a child and/or spouse and parent, are equally featured. Deep seated racial bias is front and center, and when it raises its ugly head, it also will raise the hackles of the reader. The book not only explores racism, it explores rules and the need to follow or break them. When is it ok to break the rules? Who has the right to do that? How do we grieve our loss, deal with our pain?
The book feels like it should be ended with the words…to be continued… The surprise ending leaves the reader in a bit of a state of confusion. Perhaps another book is on the way to answer the unanswered questions.
Jackson, the narrator of the book did a superb job, never interfering with the content’s message, but instead, perfectly interpreting both the presentation and each character.