By Miranda Beverly-Whittemore: The Effects of Light

THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT is a luminous story --- part family drama, part mystery, and part rumination on the philosophy of art. Miranda Beverly-Whittemore combines these elements to create a poignant, thought-provoking, well-crafted debut novel. Myla Rose Wolfe has been living under an assumed name. As Kate Scott, a medieval literature professor, she is free of the scandal. When she receives a package from a lawyer who's acting on behalf of an anonymous client, she realizes that she can't outrun her past. She heads home to Portland, Oregon, to relive the event that changed her family forever --- and to once again become Myla Wolfe. Beverly-Whittemore keeps the suspense heightened by parsing out details about what happened. The story is propelled along through scenes set in the present as the reader follows Myla's quest to revisit her past. If you pared THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT down to its basic elements, it stillwould be a compelling read with engaging characters and a suspenceful storyline. But Beverly-Whittemore doesn't stop there. Through contrasting images of light and dark, artist and audience, past and present, she has created a thinking-person's page-turner. The effect is truly remarkable...and dare I say enlightening?