Where is Janice Gantry? -- John D. MacDonald

It takes me a long time to read a book these days, a combination of being really busy, not having much time to read, and a rather scattershot attention span. But even though it took me about a week, I read John D. MacDonald’s novel WHERE IS JANICE GANTRY? and enjoyed it quite a bit, especially after reading the disappointing A MAN OF AFFAIRS by JDM earlier in the year.

I liked the narrator/hero in this one, Sam Brice, a former pro football player and insurance appraiser who lives in a small town on the west coast of Florida. Trouble comes into his life in the form of a young acquaintance of his who has escaped from prison and needs his help. Somewhat against his better judgment, Sam goes along with the request, and that sets in motion a series of violent events that include the disappearance of his former girlfriend, the Janice Gantry of the title.

The plot’s a little thin and probably won’t surprise many readers, but MacDonald’s ability as a pure storyteller is clearly in evidence here, pulling the reader along. I don’t doubt that under normal circumstances I would have finished this book a lot faster than I did, because when I did get a chance to read I got caught up in it and was really flipping the pages. The last fifty pages or so are very suspenseful. Well worth reading, I say. (Thanks to Bill Crider)

On the recovery from the fire front, we’re making steady but frustratingly slow progress. We haven’t been able to move into the mobile home on our property yet because it’s taken longer to get the utilities hooked up than we thought it would. We’re hoping to get in there this week so we can really get started on cleaning up what’s left of the old house, as painful as that’s going to be. It’ll certainly be nice to be back in a place of our own, though.

As for writing, I get pages done whenever I get the chance. I’ve recreated well over half of what I lost on the current manuscript. It’s been an interesting experience, rewriting that much of a book that I had written before. The storyline is the same, and most of the scenes are, too, but most of the words are different and I’ve added some things and left out others. Definitely a weird sensation, and one that I hope I never have to go through again.

All in all, though, we’re plugging along and doing okay. Continued thanks to all of you who have helped us out, and are still helping us out, in so many different ways.