Irving Belateche

Author Belateche provides us with a tale reminiscent of Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, albeit a bit briefer and a bit more accessible.

In this tale, widowed librarian John Grant receives a message threatening the life of his 7-year-old son unless John can identify who it is who is threatening him. He has little more than 48 hours in which to solve the mystery. Trying to unravel the puzzle leads John to relive a night from his childhood when he and his two childhood friends camped out in a Virginia park.

The book involves John's search through vague literary references to identify the mystery killer. Some of the references are fairly cogent, while others seem to stretch the imagination a bit too far; in some cases it seems like the solutions to pieces of the puzzle are so vague that their explanation might come off as a bit contrived. As with Kostova's book, Belateche takes the reader on a journey into the past, as John discovers that his son's would-be killer has roots that date back to pre-colonial Virginia.

The book is well written and entertaining. It makes for a nice casual read.… (mer)