A MOMENT'S SURRENDER

In Burt’s novel, a man’s murder brings his former friend, his wife, his son, and his mistress together as they navigate their grief.

When police question Paul Bishop about the disappearance of his old friend Tom Corbin, Paul lies about their recent get-together. It’s better than admitting Tom had driven from Riverside, California, to Nevada to tell Paul that he was leaving his wife, Susan, and their young son for Rachel Lake, a woman Paul had a complicated romance with in grad school. Paul doesn’t want anything to do with Tom’s mess, but he feels guilty about lying to Susan. After Tom’s body is found, Paul reaches out to Susan and drives to Riverside to aid her as she deals with the funeral and the arraignment of Tom’s killer. Paul feels an immediate connection with her and her son Jack, which only grows stronger when Susan confesses that she has cancer and that her only chance of survival is an intense treatment. She needs someone to stay with her and Jack, and Paul is more than willing. The problem is, he doesn’t want Susan to find out about Tom’s affair—but Rachel has other ideas. She wants to tell Susan, and soon. (“It’s no kindness to her to keep her from reality.”) Burt’s novel deftly explores the complex grief of those Tom left behind. However, the narrative sometimes struggles to balance the relationships; Paul’s romantic feelings for Susan, and Rachel’s own relationship with her, develop too quickly to feel fully authentic. While the pacing starts strong, the narrative’s momentum fizzles as it goes along, hampered by the novel’s lack of a solid structure. Still, the characters are all unique and compelling—it’s easy to sympathize with Susan, and especially easy to feel for Jack, who’s almost 6 and trying his best to be strong for his mom.

An uneven tale of grief kept afloat by an engaging cast of characters.