Norman Vincent Peale, the champion of positive thinking, was once quoted as saying, “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold everything is softer and more beautiful.”  Not so in Durham, Connecticut, a small town located just twenty miles southeast of Hartford, the state’s capital.  In Durham a malevolent cloud hung low, shadowing the good citizens of the town.  Murder was in the air this Christmas, murder that would inevitably change the lives of many who dwelled in this pocket-sized town.  Not all lives would change, mind you.  But for some, the change would be enough to turn their whole world upside down and knock it sideways.  Especially after the truth got out about who was lying face down on a table in a church basement, deader than a doornail.  For the friends and relatives of those poor slobs, and for the murderer too for that matter, life would never be the same again and that was for darned sure.       

It was hard to put down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next, and I didn't want it to end.  Also Mary Lou’s writing is very easy to visualize. I could "see" each character, situation, and drive home with clarity.  And it is funny too!  I really like the part where Paul is telling Maggie about her father.  I think Maggie's father is my other favorite character (besides Maggie of course).  The story is great.  I love the way everything comes together in the end. I love her relationship with her daughter Abby.
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Marylu Dalton, English Teacher, South Carolina

Speaking simply from the heart of an avid reader:

Maggie is such a down-to-earth, realistic character that the readers sympathize and empathize with.  Who wouldn't appreciate what a devoted father Eddy was in his own way?  The author (Mary Lou Gediman) does a remarkable job of shifting from past to present while keeping the reader engaged and eager to know exactly what happened on that night in the church basement so long ago.  She leaves us with an atypical "happy" ending that we can all appreciate.  Finally, the local color of blue collar, small town New England is ever present in the descriptions of the characters and the setting.  I can’t wait to read Mary Lou’s next book!
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Judy Peterson, Lecturer, University of Richmond

Christmas Day 1964, two local cops were found murdered in the basement of St. John’s  Episcopal Church. Cops in a church, murdered? Why? Who killed them? Author Mary Lou Gediman leads us to the answer with intricate detail and seemingly insignificant conversation, but every morsel of information counts. This isn’t your typical “who-done-it” mystery that takes readers through the investigation of a murder. Gediman transports us between decades from Virginia through New England and back, unraveling the mystery layer by layer. We travel with the protagonist Maggie through each moment of her journey.

Maggie is your mother, your sister, your best friend. She is lively and quick, and courageous. The other characters are familiar to us; you could swear they live next door. Their conversations are speckled with familiar truisms and their mannerisms, quirks and expressions are presented in plain language that make us feel at home.

Maggie’s journey reveals surprising answers to questions -- some not even asked.

Who killed those cops? What is the mystery?

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Dr. Randy Fitzgerald:   Randy Fitzgerald teaches creative writing and modern American literature at Virginia Union University and is a columnist for Boomer Life and Fifty Plus.  He was a longtime public relations director at the University of Richmond and weekly columnist for The Richmond Times Dispatch.

In her first novel, Mary Lou Gediman masterfully interweaves the two most important events in the life of her heroine, Maggie Payne:  a horrific Christmas Eve 1964 tragedy that changed Maggie’s life forever as a teenager and a 2007 journey she takes from Virginia to New Hampshire designed by a mysterious spiritual guide to explain her past and reveal her future.  Gediman skillfully unravels it all to Maggie and the reader simultaneously in an unforgettable adventure.  You will enjoy this well-paced and insightful tale.