Recently, I was given the great privilege of reading this book, and I’ve been so excited for today to arrive, the day I would get to post my review of the book and interview with the author, Emma Elliot. I ask her about favorite authors, and when I read her answer, I had to smile, knowing how well her wonderful book fits with the stories her favorite author wrote. Read on for my review and the interview. Don’t miss the chance to read, A Thin, Dark Line!

A Thin, Dark Line
By Emma Elliot

I didn’t expect to get drawn into this story and completely lost in it from the first paragraph, but that’s exactly what happened to me.
In the beginning, when we meet Eloise, the main character, and see her interact with her best friend’s family, I knew I was going to love the story. The characters felt like people I could know, warm, welcoming, quirky at times and loving. Well, the good guys, at least. I come from a large family, and many of the scenes with eloise among her circle of friends reminded me of some of the happier memories of times with my family.
When eloise hires Cormac O’Malley, just out of a fifteen-year prison term, to work for her as a handyman, her action raises ire among the people in the small town. She is harassed and threatened, and in one scene, my fists were clenched, heart racing and stomach in knots, for fear of what was going to happen. I kept repeating in my head, “It’s gonna be all right; it’s gonna be all right.” I think I even held my breath till the scene was over!
And Cormac, what can I say, from the moment he appears on the scene, I liked him. There was something about him, a gentle spirit, that spoke to my heart, even though he was jumpy and defensive, expecting the negative reactions he’d get from people, unable to recognize acceptance in the beginning. I haven’t felt so strongly the need to cheer for a male fictional character in a long time, but more than anything, I wanted cormac to succeed, to be proven to be innocent of the crimes happening since his release. I wanted Cormac and eloise to fall in love and to live happily ever after.
In this story, there are good guys and bad guys, and guys who should be good but aren’t, and some who don’t do good things but you understand why. Eloise’s circle, her best friend’s family including two adorable little boys, her cousin and his life partner, the glorious family who own the local pizza joint, even the library helper who blinks all the time, combine to make a believable real life type of cast of characters. While the action and mystery kept me guessing and angry and at times, scared out of my wits.
When it was over, I was fully and deeply satisfied, even as I wanted more of it, just a few more pages of time to spend with characters I had come to love.
I am a book rereader. I often reread books I’ve loved, and I know this book will join that list, because I just couldn’t get enough. And though I had an Advanced Reader copy of the book, I’ll be buying it first thing the day it is released! I know I’ll want to visit this fictional group of people who became a family of sorts to my heart.

Here are my questions and answers. Read on and get acquainted with a fascinating woman.

Interview with Emma Elliot
1. Your characters are brilliant, vividly drawn. They feel alive. Are any of them based on real people in your life?

Thank you! I’d hoped they would all come across as someone with whom you could carry on a conversation if you were to reach for the same novel at the bookstore or sit next to them on a train. They certainly felt that way to me. I’m sure several share characteristics with people I know, but only the boys are consciously patterned after someone in my life.

2. I find suspense somewhat nerve-racking to write. How did you write your suspense and action? Did you sit down and plot it out carefully, or did you just know what you wanted and started writing with it all falling into place, or something in the middle?

I’m such a type A personality in every respect, but strangely enough I find that I cannot be so strict with myself when it comes to writing. I can’t plot, save for in the loosest idea of the term, or outline, else I find myself feeling stifled. I have an idea of the direction in which I wish to take things—whether the characters allow me to or not is a different story—but I generally just sit down and put pen to paper without too much forethought. Of course, then I go back through once I’ve finished a scene and revise, tighten, and tweak.

3. I’m always interested in settings. Why did you choose to have Eloise be a librarian?

I have an undeniable love affair with books. I’ll admit I have the Kindle app on my phone, but nothing compares to a tangible reading experience. Being a librarian has always been one of my top five dream jobs, and Eloise showed up in my head in her library. She was never anything but.

4. Do you have a favorite author, or an author who inspires you?

Mary Stewart is my absolute favorite author in this era of fiction writing. I love all of her books: her seamless blending of subtle, classy romance and breathless suspense; the rich descriptiveness of places, so much so that the settings are entities unto themselves; the strong secondary characters. I wrote her a letter once—she’s in her nineties now—and she replied with a handwritten note. I have it framed. I would love to sit in her garden with her and talk over a cup of tea.

5. Have you always written or wanted to write?

Truthfully, I cannot remember a time when I didn’t want to write. I have loved words from the time I realized that scribbles on a page were connected and, when grouped together with skill and imagination, could form worlds and lives, love and loss, magic and music and something able to transport and uplift and broaden the scope of our existence. I think there is little as powerful as story. History has shown that with the tradition of tales told and recorded throughout the ages. If there is anything that connects all of humanity, it is our love of stories. And it’s been a lifelong dream to count myself as a storyteller.

6. What’s your favorite book, or if you’re like me and can’t pick just one, tell me a couple of them. Did those books affect the direction you went with your own writing?

If I have to choose an absolute favorite book, it would be “The Night Country,” by Loren Eiseley. The book is a collection of archeological/anthropological essays, which sounds dry, but it is a brilliant, poetic pondering of the nature of man. For me, the book reiterates the lyricism of language, and that, as a storyteller, one can make even a desert-ravaged carcass beautiful.

7. Can I have pizza at the restaurant with the whole gang? I want to meet Eloise, and Cormac, and the kids and all their extended friends and family!

I’ll put a word in, so Fiona will be sure to have a fresh batch of zeppoli made just for you. And I’m certain if you asked, Eloise wouldn’t mind baking some brownies.