Book Review: Carolina Moonset by Matt Goldman

My Rating:

3.5⭐

At the onset of the novel, we meet 45-year-old Joey Green, a divorced father of two, who travels from Chicago to Beaufort, South Carolina to help his mother take care of his 75-year-old father, Marshall, who has recently been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. His father, a doctor by profession, spent his whole life tending to the needs of patients in a free clinic for the less privileged and moved back to Beaufort after a long career in Chicago. Marshall's illness has adversely affected his short-term recall but his ability to recollect events from his past is stronger and he is able to describe his memories from decades ago with astonishing clarity. Marshall also experiences bouts of hallucinations wherein he strikes up conversations with people from his past. As Joey spends more time with his father, Marshall shares his memories of his own life as a child growing up in Beaufort and often brings up fond memories from Joey's and Joey's sisters' childhoods.

“My father had lost most of those distractions. He couldn’t hold anything in his head long enough to anesthetize himself with the simple diversion of thinking ahead. His past was his only safe haven. He could linger there to relive what he’d already lived. His present offered nothing but giant steps toward the end.”

When an affluent and influential member of the community is found murdered and clues point to the murder weapon being a pistol owned by Marshall, it is up to Joey to prove his father’s innocence as the police seem to close in on Marshall as a suspect. He is aided by Leela, also divorced and the daughter of his parents’ neighbors, with whom both sets of parents are intent on setting him up. From his father’s recollections, Joey also learns of two previous murders, dating back decades, of people close to Marshall. Joey must figure out whether the present-day murder is in any way connected to the events in his father’s past.

Matt Goldman’s Carolina Moonset is a beautifully penned novel. The setting is atmospheric and I loved the descriptions of the coastal town and the community. Goldman’s writing is impressive as are the characterizations. Both Joey’s and Marshall’s characters are very well–developed. Though the plot has a murder mystery at its core, the novel touches upon themes of love, family, community and aging. While I did enjoy the banter between Leela and Joey, I felt that the romantic track was unnecessary and rushed. The author paints a moving picture of the emotional toll that Marshall’s diagnosis has on his family and Joey’s helplessness as he witnesses his father’s health deteriorating and his desire to cherish every moment he can with his father is heartbreaking. Given that the story vacillates between the impact of Marshall’s illness on the Greens’ lives and the murder mystery, the pace does fluctuate which is not a problem. The author does a fine job of balancing both aspects of the story. The interactions between Joey and his father were deeply moving as was the bond the Green family shared with their friends and neighbors. The final reveal is a surprise and I enjoyed the build-up . This is my first Matt Goldman novel and I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

“There are moments in life when you feel a truth so irrefutable that every thought and emotion you’ve ever experienced, every joy and hardship, falls into alignment. In that pinhole of time life makes sense.”