MRS. FITCH AND WILLIAM JONES

In Murray’s brief novel, a divorcee’s bucolic Southampton, New York homestead is thrown into chaos after old boyfriends start showing up.

Leslie Fitch, who’s gone through two divorces in the last decade, is now quite happy living a quiet life alone on her beach front property in the Hamptons with her small pack of devoted dogs. Her tranquility and peace of mind is shattered, however, when she returns home one day to discover her beloved golden retriever, Lucy, lying dead in the driveway, the victim of poisoning. She immediately suspects that one of her former lovers could be responsible for the heinous act, and she ends up purchasing a gun for protection. She soon finds herself the target of petty acts of mischief before receiving a particularly threatening letter, addressed to her and signed “Your Nemesis”: “You won't know another night of peaceful sleep. I will never forgive you for the way you treated me. Now it is your turn to suffer. You will reap what you have sowed.” This missive only sends Leslie into further mental disarray and distress. Into this maelstrom walks William Jones—one of Leslie’s many exes, whom she axed three years prior. Neither time nor the copious gin-and-tonics that he consumes daily has dulled his passion for Leslie, and he desperately wants her back. However, Leslie flatly refuses William’s romantic entreaties and wonders if he could possibly be her “Nemesis.” From here, the stripped-down mystery shifts its focus to William, who, unbeknownst to Leslie, has hit it big in the stock market and is making a good-faith effort to rein in his drinking. As she considers whether she should give William another chance, it becomes clear that her anonymous enemy has no intention of stopping his reign of terror anytime soon.

Over the course of this brisk book, Murray delivers a tight, unadorned mystery story that’s a pleasure to read. The dialogue is serviceable and direct, with simple actions and gestures cleanly conveying characters’ thoughts and feelings of unease or contemplation. The overarching narrative is consistently lean and propulsive, and the quick pace of the storytelling leaves little time to consider Leslie’s and William’s poor decisions in the moment. Why, for instance, doesn’t William use his considerable financial resources to hire a crack security team to safeguard Leslie’s beach house from further attack? Still, Murray provides just enough uncertainty and anticipation to keep the pages turning, while also saving readers from dwelling at length on such minor shortfalls. Neither will readers question the extravagant quality of William’s increasingly good fortune as the story goes on. Indeed, Murray’s ability to infuse the familiar and commonplace with some of the best elements of folklore also allows readers to willingly suspend their disbelief. In the end, it’s no surprise that William is the beneficiary of such profound good luck—to make it otherwise would be to betray the mysterious world the author has created.

An amiable, bite-sized work with appealing fairytale-like elements.