Shoot the Moon

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Shoot the Moon
Billie Letts
2004

Cover Synopsis
"In 1972, windswept DeClare, Oklahoma, was consumed by the murder of a young mother, Gaylene Harjo, and the disappearance of her baby, Nicky Jack.  When the child's pajama bottoms were discovered on the banks of Willow Creek, everyone feared that he, too, had been killed, although his body was never found.

"Nearly thirty years later, Nicky Jack mysteriously returns to DeClare, shocking the town and stirring up long-buried memories.  But what he discovers about the night he vanished is more astonishing than he or anyone could have imagined.  Piece by piece, what emerges is a story of dashed hopes, desperate love, and a secret that still cries out for justice...and redemption."

Thoughts
Shoot the Moon has an intriguing premise:  a small, American town turned upside-down by a grisly murder; a boy returning home after discovering the truth; a mystery and a secret buried beneath the quiet facade of a seemingly amiable old town.

It's a murder-mystery, so parts of Billie Letts' novel are unpleasant.  Like the abusive and corrupt sheriff, or the mean-spirited radio station owner.  They both make my skin crawl (as they probably should, given their part in the debacle).

And, even though I did find closure in the final chapters of Shoot the Moon, it's still a tragic story.  I can honestly say I was disappointed.  That is, I understand why it ended like it did - and I completely understand the motivations of the characters.  How they act falls in line with how you imagine they would act in such a situation - but I wasn't exactly happy with the novel's resolution.

Overall Impression
Admittedly, I wasn't completely invested in the story.

I finished the book, but I wasn't completely committed to it.  I really just wanted to see what happened at the end - you know, the Big Reveal, the Scooby-Doo unmasking, the who-really-did-it in the Whodunit - to gain closure.

I'm not knocking Letts' novel.  I mean, I find it thoughtful and interesting, a comprehensive examination of human nature and a series of unpleasant circumstances that does, as the cover synopsis asserts, discover justice and redemption.

However, I can truthfully say Shoot the Moon isn't a novel I will read a second time.