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It seems he's always loved her. From the very start, when he was involved with her best friend, Will Dunby has been deeply connected only to Sandy Cross. They've gone on to marry, and she's a person of deep attraction-beautiful, wealthy, intelligent, compassionate, devoted to doing the right thing for her legal clients, mostly underprivileged women. Meanwhile, Will is a newspaper reporter, and their life seems idyllic. They live in Sandy's family home, more like a mansion really. But behind the doors, things are not so perfect as they might appear. Sandy has admitted to an affair with a doctor by the name of Tommy Moylan. It's over now, but it's left collateral damage on Will and Sandy's relationship. The love is still there, but there's a wound that is slow to heal in Will's heart. And then the call comes. Sandy has been thrown from her car after driving off a cliff. Although she survived, she is in a coma and "living" in a persistent vegetative state. Will can't let her go, in spite of evidence that she will never recover, so he and Sandy's mother, Elizabeth, take care of Sandy at home. The facts around the accident indicate that Sandy may have been trying to commit suicide, and that is somewhat confirmed when the police find that Tommy has been shot and killed just prior to Sandy's accident, shot both in the head and the genitals. The police quickly home in on an abused woman by the name of Billi Stroud that Sandy had been representing and who had been living at Tommy's house as a recuperative measure. When Billi is placed on trial for Tommy's murder, the finger of suspicion suddenly begins to point back at Will. The seed of doubt is planted in the reader's mind about just who is responsible for Tommy's death. Nichols excels at building suspense as he reveals just enough to make the reader believe in several possible scenarios. All the while we are seeing Will trying to adjust to Sandy's circumstances, in scenes that are poignantly written and emotionally draining. How could someone who acts in this way possibly be a murderer? Nichols has done an exceptional job in this, his first novel. By placing the reader in Will's mind, we can truly experience the impact of what has happened to Sandy, the loss of a vibrant person to a woman who is just a shell, and just how difficult it is for Will to let go of her. Nichols details all of the conflicting feelings that Will is experiencing perfectly while casting doubt on the veracity of the narrator. At the same time, the suspense mounts, as we see evidence that indicates that Billi may not be guilty. But then again, maybe she is. The resolution was pitch perfect, taking all the previous twists and turns and leading them in a straight line to the inexorable conclusion, one that has just enough of a touch of ambiguity to keep the reader puzzling about the outcome long after finishing the book. The Waking has been placed firmly on my Top 10 list for the year. Gripping, moving, wonderfully written-what more could a reader want?
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, March 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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