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Book Reviewed by:Both suspenseful and deeply moving, Carolina Moonset is an engrossing novel about family, memories both golden and terrible, and secrets too dangerous to stay hidden forever, from New York Times bestselling and Emmy Award–winning author, Matt Goldman.
Joey Green has returned to Beaufort, South Carolina, with its palmettos and shrimp boats, to look after his ailing father, who is succumbing to dementia, while his overstressed mother takes a break. Marshall Green's short-term memory has all but evaporated, but, as if in compensation, his oldest memories are more vivid than ever. His mind keeps slipping backwards in time, retreating into long-ago yesterdays of growing up in Beaufort as a boy.
At first this seems like a blessing of sorts, with the past providing a refuge from a shrinking future, but Joey grows increasingly anxious as his father's hallucinatory arguments with figures from his youth begin to hint at deadly secrets, scandals, and suspicions long buried and forgotten. Resurfacing from decades past are mysteries that still have the power to shatter lives―and change everything Joey thought he knew.
Especially when a new murder brings the police to his door...
Simultaneous release in hardcover and paperback.
Goldman balances the various threads skillfully; all of them are equally enthralling and beautifully interwoven, so much so that I found the mystery itself a less interesting aspect, almost an afterthought in this superbly wrought family drama. Those looking for a taut murder mystery may find it a bit of a letdown, but readers interested in a high-quality novel about aging and the complexities of middle age will definitely appreciate it...continued
Full Review
(675 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
In Matt Godman's novel, Carolina Moonset, one of the main characters has Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), a degenerative condition similar to Alzheimer's disease.
According to the National Institute of Health, "Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a disease associated with abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect chemicals in the brain [and these] changes, in turn, can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behavior, and mood." It is one of the most common forms of dementia, affecting over one million people in the United States. It's a progressive, fatal disease that can't be cured at this time.
It is unclear what causes LBD; age is considered the only real risk factor, and ...
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Goldman has an unerring ear for snappy dialogue and a poet's eye for the beauty of nature. This is a compelling story of how the past is never truly the past, and how we make sense of the gifts that are offered us in every present moment. I loved this book.
