LIES FROM BEECHWOOD DRIVE

A small-town gossip riles up her neighbors in MacBride’s novel.

In the late 1980s, Esther Fuhrman is the chief tattler of tiny Opole, Michigan. To her, gossip is “currency that she peddled around town to anyone who would listen (and some who wouldn’t)”; for instance, she tells many townspeople that a local boy has leukemia, but in fact he was simply out of town with his family on vacation. Then Esther finds a cryptic note that reads “Mock Raid” and features a map of the school where she volunteers; before long, the false rumor around town is that Esther foiled an attack on school kids. She also becomes convinced, wrongly, that a local cheese shop is a front for the Mafia, but she also reports a new man in town, correctly, for possessing child pornography. This increases her influence in Opole, and later, Esther finds some documents on a school computer and gets parents in the community riled up about independent-study policies that haven’t been implemented yet, causing unnecessary chaos. Later, when White boys in town play an April Fool’s Day prank, Esther, who’s also White, quickly suggests that the new Black family in town might be at fault. Later, the book shifts forward to 2015, as Esther is up to her old tricks, but on social media instead of in person. MacBride presents a well-sketched portrait of the town of Opole and its residents, who all feel authentic, including Esther, who’s clearly depicted as having an inability to comprehend social cues. However, many readers may find it hard to get through the portions of the story seen through Esther’s eyes, as she does some unforgivably cruel things. Indeed, she’s revealed to be such a destructive force in her community that many readers will likely expect her to get a comeuppance, but although she does get some punishment in the end, it’s unsatisfyingly mild in proportion to her offenses. Readers should also be aware of a disturbing scene in which Esther’s 10-year-old son tries to buy a gun, although this plan is eventually thwarted.

A difficult suburban story with well-developed characters.