Lisa O"Donnell, who wrote "The Death of Bees," returns to Scotland in her latest novel, "Closed Doors." (HarperCollins, 246 pages)
In what is another coming of age story, "Closed Doors" draws a contrast between the innocence of a young boy just discovering his attraction to girls against the evil works of an adult sexual predator.
O'Donnell writes of how a crime affects a family and an entire community. The tale is told through the eyes of 11-year-old Michael Murray, who lives in a small village in Scotland's West Coast in the days of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. (Apparently, the plot occurs prior to the time when Scotland Yard had not fully developed the forensic science of DNA testing.)
The young Michael, who lives with unemployed father and mother and paternal grandmother, dreams of becoming a soccer player.
Things take a tragic turn for the family when the mother is assaulted one night after taking a short cut through a park. The parents try to keep the crime quiet.
When they do not report the attack to the police, their neighbors assume Mrs. Murray's injuries where the result of domestic violence. Even Michael is kept in the dark about what happened to his mother.
Slowly, the perceptive child comes to understand what really happened that fateful night as he watches his mother sink into depression. Their silence has further ramifications as it endangers the other women in their community and threatens to make the Murray family social outcasts.
In this fast-paced work, Lisa O'Donnell skillfully examines how crime affects not merely the individual victim, but her family and neighbors as well and that there are secrets that should not and cannot be hidden behind closed doors.