Wit’s End-Karen Joy Fowler

Wit’s End
Karen Joy Fowler
Plume, Apr 28 2009, $15.00
ISBN: 0452290066

In Santa Cruz, California, twenty-nine years old Rima Lanisell visits her godmother mystery writer Addison Early at the latter’s oceanfront house Wit's End. Addison is extremely popular for her Maxwell Lane mysteries, but is somewhat a recluse. Her former boyfriend Bim is a recurring character in her novels even as she mourns his recent death; as does his daughter Rima although the latter grieves her brother much more although he died four years ago.

For every one of her mysteries Addison creates a dollhouse display of the prime murder scene. However, as her deadline comes closer, she has not started her prototype. Meanwhile Rima has gone through years old correspondence especially fascinated by those involving Constance Wellington of the Holy City cult stronghold, and the dedicated online discussion boards to learn the truth behind the Maxwell Lane novels; she is shocked that even she is a subject of fan discussion. The more she learns about her godmother, her father, and others; the less she understands.

The storyline focuses on how much change has occurred in communications due to the Internet as once an author and a fan might relate one to one, but now a fan can communicate with many other fans instantly. Addison is a terrific character who brings a sense of ironic humor to the mix while her fab fans dissect every comma in her seeking nuances of universal truisms. Rima is not as likable as her godmother, as she wears her grief as armor, but she is the catalyst with her slight probing into the past. WIT’S END is an engaging profound tale with a wry wit that makes the case fame is no longer fifteen minutes since the Internet makes celebrity status seemingly eternal even when the hits stop coming.

Harriet Klausner