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Title: Good read; good history
Review: I really enjoyed this book. What you've really got here is a well paced page-turner of a mystery (a good beach read if it weren't September) wrapped with themetic elements that raise it above your typical quick-read whodunit. Catskill is set in the 1930s, but it tells a story as old as America: the conflict between ever-changing groups of old timers and newcomers. Indians lose out to frontiersmen; old, local families are suspicious of 19th century Catholic newcomers, who in turn are compelled to "scarify" Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler. Look at today's headlines and you can see just how enduring the story is. This is good history and good storytelling. I lean a whole lot closer to Kirkus' review than PW's: "Impeccable plotting . . . heroes worth rooting for . . . A debut of rare accomplishment."
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