Title: Closure: A Novel of Discovery & Closure in the Lives of Four People
Author: E.A. Stillwell
Publisher: Greenberry Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-948653-49-7
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Pages: 242
Reviewed by: Allison Walker
Hollywood Book Reviews
When fifteen year old Jerry Winslow witnesses a crime and makes off with two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, he knows his life will change but doesn’t know in what ways. Fast forward four years and Jerry finds himself caught on the outskirts of another crime, one that doesn’t pay him any money but does allow him to escape with his life. In exchange for all his troubles, the lucky hero meets Katy Harris, a girl with her own secrets, and together they take off on a lifetime journey of discovery and closure.
The story of Jerry and Katy begins in the 1980’s, and their romance and dialogue is sweet like picnic lunches and acoustic guitars. They have a classic romance which begins, like all good ’80s romances, in Jerry’s car. They meander through their lives and the novel’s plotline, enjoying the ride, making new friends, and dodging the occasional scrape.
At a certain point in the novel, the reader realizes Jerry might be funding their adventures with his ill-acquired cash, but where did it come from? And why hasn’t anyone come looking for it? By the year 2016, and not before some good friends made, and some exciting adventures had, the reader and Jerry both have their answers. The mystery comes together in a satisfying series of events and information, the way we all hope our lives’ greatest mysteries might be revealed to us with just a little perseverance and clever thinking.
Throughout the story, the novel has a consistent pace. The plot picks up pleasantly, and waves gently into excitement and strife, then glides out into normalcy and contentment. Stillwell takes his time to create, if not cliché characters, fleshed out and believable characters, appropriate to their location in time. Closure: A Novel of Discovery & Closure in the Lives of Four People is a docile, not quite predictable novel, patient when it is not riveting and almost always pleasant. It is exactly the kind of novel one would be pleasantly surprised to pick out of a friend’s bookshelf or a lucky find in a book fair. Of course, ordering your own copy from Amazon or online would be a quicker method.