Starr writes in a kind of urban noir, his novel seemingly predictable; meanwhile, he slyly twists and turns both characters and plot to deliver a tale of human nature run awry in the modern world. When psychologist Adam Bloom's daughter wakes him one night, whispering that there is someone downstairs, Adam grabs his gun against his wife's advice, shooting and killing a burglar. In full panic mode, Adam unloads his weapon on the intruder while the man's accomplice escapes. When the family housekeeper is murdered the next morning, the repercussions endure long after that violent night.
The Bloom's are a contemporary family caught up in the usual distractions, self-absorption and too little time to pay attention to one another. Adam's wife, Dana, is chronically unhappy, now furious with her husband for not listening to her warnings and resorting to his gun, the marriage showing visible cracks. And twenty-two year old Marissa, a recent college graduate, has yet to find a path in life, resenting her father's suggestions that she get a life, hiding from responsibility by spending her nights drinking and partying with friends. Marissa reflects her parents' disharmony, in full rebellion as she pours her feelings into a blog, acting out as only the young and disenchanted can do. The shooting incident shakes this family from their already weak foundations, their lack of communication exacerbated by isolation.
Starr writes of a family floundering in the wake of notoriety, the news media hounding Adam with endless questions. Nearing fifty, Adam has created no niche for himself professionally, his fifteen minutes of fame turning from opportunity to nightmare as he is labeled the next Bernie Goetz. As the pressures mount and a new danger threatens the family, instead of pulling together, the Bloom's nurture private grievances in a society beset with technological distractions and the availability of too much information, making them the perfect target for a particular predator. In this ragged journey from one impulsive moment of violence to a final confrontation, events are set in motion that have shocking consequences.
In spite of advanced technology, the beleaguered Bloom family cannot relate to one another, each finding solutions elsewhere, setting the stage for a diabolical plan for revenge, as unexpected as it is clever plotting. Starr writes with a bite, his characters defined by their circumstances and limited expectations, products of an environment where consequences are ignored for the sake of a news cycle, a mosh pit of self-interest and rage, where action trumps thought, guns are ubiquitous and the Golden Rule but a memory. Luan Gaines/2009.