Laura Ellen Scott

Death Valley takes centre stage, as the harsh landscape transforms into one covered in radiant blooms. This juxtaposition between the unforgiving necessities of a life of survival and the impulse to seek a flowering of better things is a central theme running through the novel. The narrative flits between a numerous cast of characters, creating an effectively grand panorama. Fitting to this open landscape is a character who serves as an anchor—an ageing actor, well known for starring as a cowboy in fondly remembered Westerns.

The novel pivots around an alluring green gem, The titular Juliet, the stone split into two major and minor halves. Coveted to almost mystical proportions, over time a mythology builds around it, inflated by the notoriety of those searching for it. The narrative swings through eras, homing in on various characters, all pursuing The Juliet for their own reasons, the cold gem indifferent to whatever value or meaning they are compelled to project upon it.

Also central to the story is a house known over the years by different names, but most fittingly as The Mystery House. It is here that The Juliet and those seeking it most often collide, and the house itself earns its moniker by taking on the gem’s magnetic pull by association with it. The narrative visits the dwelling at different stages in its history, its residents ranging from gothically quirky twins to an ordinary woman gifted the house seemingly on a whim. It is from the house’s view that the nearby town of Centenary comes into focus, an additional stage for those bewitched by The Juliet to play out their fates.

An entertaining novel, brimming with offbeat Americana.… (mais)

What is The Juliet? It’s an emerald, but it’s also much more. It’s cursed … or at least that’s what legend would have us believe. In contemporary day, Rigg Dexon, an old cowboy, lives in The Mystery House. Tourists would sometimes make their way to his door looking for The Mystery House. He’d lead them astray telling them the house had to be burned down years before because of some ‘Hantavirus’. He’s aware of what they really want. “They were looking for a shiny piece of green rock that had been making fools out of men for more than a hundred years…”

The Juliet and The Mystery house were the brainchild of the Stieg twins back in 1893. The Juliet had been broken nearly in half during a struggle. Once rich and powerful, the boys had little in the way of an inheritance from their father. They decide to create an extravagant treasure hunt for the jewel. Clues began to appear in The Inquisitor in 1894 – “Where is The Juliet?”

Summarizing this novel is like trying to catch a dozen chickens all at one time. It’s a multi-layered story with quite a number of characters. The story is told through the hundred year history of The Juliet. The author deftly describes the dry and arid conditions of the primary location in Death Valley. While the land is barren, the characters are anything but. They’re vibrant and they’re certainly diverse, even erratic. The Stieg twins were genuinely, and I’m sure intentionally, a creepy addition. Rating: 3 out of 5.… (mais)

What would you wish for a world without you? There's no denying the world has gotten strange. In the middle of New Orleans, Victor Swaim is just trying to live his life.

Victor is an extremely distinctive and enjoyable narrator with a great, unique voice. He comes alive through Scott’s writing, a complex mixture of goodness and hopelessness and humor that makes him the sort of person you could imagine having a beer with. Victor’s narration is snappy and precise, the dialogue smart but totally believable.

Scott did a fantastic job of evoking a weird, almost unreal atmosphere in her New Orleans, which served well as a backdrop for a story both inventive and intriguing. I have never been to New Orleans, but Scott made it come alive for me, a skill I appreciate.

My full review is posted on Erin Reads.… (mais)