Rhiann Fahey is going through a tough time in her life. Her
husband has recently died and her son, Jimmy, is acting
out -- cutting school and drinking. Adding to the problem
are the unwanted advances of her dead husband's friend and
fellow cop, Rory Sinster. She's trying to get her life in
order -- going back to work, dealing patiently with her
son's errant behavior and telling Sinster that she's simply
not interested.
Then Rhiann gets a new neighbor with a mysterious past.
John Devlin turns out to be a good neighbor, offering
Rhiann help and getting Jimmy off the street by giving him
a job. Jimmy continues to prove problematic, however, when
he looks up his birth father's family. While in a
neighboring city visiting this family, Jimmy falls in love
with a mysterious girl, further complicating everyone's
lives.
When Rory Sinster tries to discredit John Devlin and goes
so far as to physically assault him, Rhiann steps in and
defends John. All of the activity in the present has direct
ties to everyone's pasts. These ties slowly unravel and
Rhiann finds that John Devlin is even more of a mystery
than she originally thought.
I really enjoyed this book. It's written in first-person,
but with each chapter being a different person's point of
view -- John Devlin, Rhiann Fahey and Jimmy Fahey. I really
like it when a book has a lot of dialogue and can still
tell a good story and with M.I.A., Michael Allen
Dymmoch has succeeded in doing just that. It's a story
about people and Dymmoch crafts her characters so that you
really get a sense of who they are. In order to do this,
however, the first half of the book is basically exposition
for the rest of the story. That bothered me at first, but
upon further reflection, I liked it. I was drawn into the
story despite the lack of a real hook until about halfway
through. M.I.A. is a compelling and well-written story
about lost love, missing friends and new beginnings.
The accidental death of Rhiann Fahey's second husband
leaves her paralyzed by grief and her son Jimmy cutting
school and drinking. The widow's problems are compounded
by the unwanted advances of her dead husband's
friend.Rhiann does her best to cope, returning to work,
dealing patiently with Jimmy's misbehavior, telling Rory
Sinter she's not interested.Then a mysterious stranger
moves in next door. John Devlin offers Rhiann beer and
sympathy. He gives Jimmy a job.Jimmy complicates things
further by looking up his birth father's family, from whom
Rhiann has been estranged for many years. And by falling
in love with a mysterious girl.When Sinter tries to
discredit John, then beat him to death, Rhiann comes to
John's rescue. But she discovers her perfect neighbor
isn't what he'd seemed---which leads her to investigate
and to see John in a different light altogether.A tale of
violent men and violent passions, of missing friends, of
loss and discovery, this beautifully written story, whose
characters come to life from the first page, shows one
more side of Michael Allen Dymmoch's powerful storytelling
ability.
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