Fifteen years before the story opens, in 2002, Napoleon (Nap) Dumas was an 18-year-old high school jock in Westbridge, New Jersey, looking forward to college and a future with his beautiful girlfriend Maura.
Then Nap's world collapsed overnight. While the athlete was at an away hockey game his twin brother Leo, and Leo's girlfriend Diana, were hit by a train and killed.
On that same evening, Maura broke up with Nap, left town, and disappeared. Nap couldn't believe these traumatic events were unconnected and became obsessed with finding out more about that fateful night.
Nap talked to Maura's mother, who would only say her daughter had changed schools, and nothing more. Nap even broke into Maura's house to look for information, with no luck. Afterwards, Nap was taken under the wing of Diana's heartbroken father, Police Captain Augie Styles, who ascribed the deaths of Diana and Leo to foolish behavior caused by drugs and alcohol.
Ever since the calamitous high school events, Nap has been mourning his brother - with whom he'd shared 'a womb and a room'; and yearning for Maura - who he considered the love of his life. Thus Nap forewent college, became a police officer, and is now a detective in Westbridge. Nap's a good cop, but he doesn't always follow the rules.
For one thing, Nap 'corrects' the behavior of men who commit domestic abuse by beating them up. For another thing, Nap illicitly put Maura's fingerprints and DNA into the national database, asking to be informed if there's a hit.
And now, a decade and a half after Maura vanished, there's a hit. Maura's fingerprints are found in the rented car of a man who shot and killed a Pennsylvania police officer, Sergeant Rex Canton. As it happens, Rex Canton was Nap's high school classmate, and belonged to a teenage 'Conspiracy Club' with Leo, Diana, Maura, a boy named Hank - who has since succumbed to mental illness, and a girl called Beth - who's now a physician in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In high school, the members of the Conspiracy Club were 'investigating' a secretive government installation near Westbridge - a facility that was fenced off and liberally posted with 'No Trespassing' signs. The base supposedly contained Nike missiles during the cold war, and was now used for some unknown purpose. The teenagers would lurk around the installation, go up to the fence, try to peer in, take photos, and so on.
Nap comes to suspect that the activities of the Conspiracy Club led to the deaths of Leo and Diana fifteen years ago, and to Maura running off. Moreover, reverberations from those old days may have sent a murderer after Rex Canton just a few days ago.
Nap wants to interview the remaining members of the Conspiracy Club, but this turns out to be a difficult task. Mentally disturbed Hank, who was recently accused of exposing himself to schoolgirls - and bullied online - has disappeared; and Dr. Beth seems to be hiding out and not answering the phone. What could possibly be going on?
As Nap pursues his inquiries he questions people who knew Maura, Leo, and Diana; consults with Captain Augie Styles; helps investigate Rex Canton's murder in Pennsylvania talks to Walt's distressed father; comes face to face with pushy government agents; unearths important evidence; and so on. In the end, Nap learns the truth about all the deaths and disappearances, and the solution is a corker.
Most of the story is told by Nap, partly as a first person narrative, and partly as a one-sided conversation with his dead brother Leo. Nap has a snarky sense of humor, and his amusing quips lighten the otherwise dark story.
The novel is engaging, but I sometimes found it difficult to suspend disbelief. For instance, I don't think an average 18-year-old girl has the know-how to disappear at the drop of a hat. Other things bothered me as well, but I don't want to give away spoilers.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to fans of thrillers.
Rating: 3 stars
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