The Last Summer of the Camperdowns

The Last Summer of the Camperdowns by Elizabeth Kelly

"Once you postpone doing what's right, you become a big part of what's wrong."

Words that play over and over like a record stuck  on an old phonograph in the mind of Jimmy "Riddle" Camperdown.  That's the problem with hindsight; you just can't go back to right a wrong.

Twelve-year-old Riddle is the only child  and daughter of Godfrey "Camp" Camperdown and his stunning, former Hollywood actress wife, Greer.  Most people coil in retreat when her caustic, biting, witty remarks leave them speechless.  They live in a spacious Cape Cod home high on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  It is 1972 and Riddle is looking forward to a carefree, lazy summer  riding her horses and avoiding the constant petty arguments between her parents.  Camp is running for political office, launching a rigorous campaign for a seat in the state House of Representatives.  With a larger-than-life personality, Camp relishes his role as a candidate, hosting fundraisers, recruiting campaign workers, and espewing his views on the latest Vietnam atrocities.  Constituents know he served in WWII.  What they don't know are the secrets he hoped to leave behind there. 

Another powerful family lives not far away.  The Devlins.  Dashing, handsome  Michael arrives with his two sons, Charlie and Harry.  Michael and Camp were once the best of friends, having served together as snipers in the War.  Seems they also shared Greer.  This charming, debonair former lover left her standing at the altar before she married Camp.  Now Michael threatens to expose a volatile secret that could destroy Camp's life and a coveted career in politics. 

It is on one of those endless summer days that Riddle's life changes forever.  She accidentally overhears a violent scuffle in a neighbor's barn.  Frightened, in a panic, she flees, knowing in her heart that she has witnessed violence, perhaps murder.  Yet she chooses not to tell her parents. Then a missing person is reported, and Riddle must live with the consequences of her actions.  Her life and the lives of all those around her spins out of control.

Author Kelly certainly has a way with words.  In fact, at times, too verbose.  However, she has the ability  to transform the reader to a different place and time.  You can almost feel the salty spray of the ocean, hear the churning waves of the sea, and feel the icy, whipping winds that Riddle experiences as she stands on the cliff seeking solitude from her unconventional life.  Feel the fear and trepidation as the author describes the murder scene.  There is an eerie, sinister secret lurking behind the Camperdowns and the Devlins which Kelly reveals at the end.  But she keeps you guessing until then.

And with a title like this, aren't you just a liitle curious?  Take a chance on this one...