Flying Shoes

By Lisa Howorth

Thirty years ago, on Mother's Day, Mary Byrd Thornton's nine-year-old stepbrother was murdered. His killer was never found. At the time, Mary Byrd had been fifteen: in love and caught up in the excitement of the Sixties, but when Stevie died, her family and her life fell apart.

For years she has struggled with the knowledge that the murderer is still out there, as well as her own nagging guilt over Stevie's death. Yet she has built a life for herself in Mississippi: she has married a Southern gentleman and has two children she adores. With her ramshackle house, her teeming garden and her menagerie of animals, she is immersed in a comfortable, if somewhat eccentric and occasionally restless day-to-day existence.

When a journalist chances upon the mystery of Stevie's death and begins to dig into it, Mary Byrd suddenly finds herself on a reluctant journey back to her childhood home in Virginia. Along the way she encounters help from unexpected quarters and finds herself confronting not only her family's story but the stories of many others – both the living and the dead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Aug 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781408845219

Lisa Howorth

Lisa Howorth was born in Washington, DC, where her family has lived in the area for four generations. She moved to Oxford, Mississippi, where she married her husband, Richard, and raised their three children. They opened Square Books (named by Publishers Weekly as the 2013 Book Store of the Year) in 1979. Flying Shoes is a work of fiction, but the murder is based on the still-unsolved case of Lisa's stepbrother in 1966. @SquareBooks www.squarebooks.com

Reviews for Flying Shoes

[lettypearl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mary Byrd Thornton receives an unwelcome phone call in the midst of her messy, busy life in Mississippi telling her that the Richmond Virginia police believe they have new information about the molestation and murder of her nine year old step-brother that happened over 20 years ago. She must find a way to put things in order ~ seeing to it that her children will be taken to school, that there is food in the house for her husband and children and pets, as well as figure out how to get to Richmond (she hates flying). Without "telling", the author shows the reader how chaotic Mary Byrd's life is, how she struggles with order, the strange people she relies on, and how much is the result of what happened so long ago. I have to admit that at first I wondered how Mary Byrd's internal dialog and musings were relevant to the story, but as I continued reading, I learned that those things are an important part of the picture of Mary Byrd herself, and hold clues to the feelings she has about what happened back in 1966. This is a well-written, at times humorous, at times sad story about a family, and how one person deals with tragedy and living. I recommend the book as a good read when it comes out in June 2014. Many thanks to the author and the publishers for allowing me to read this advance copy!

[carrie.kilgore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A real charmer. From the book: "…she learned early that this is the way the world works, randomly and chaotically, with billions and trillions of stories overlapping and colliding and entangling so that one could never feel that one's own story was one's own. Everything that happened was like a stone thrown in a pond, rippling out, or an earthquake causing distant tsunamis." We're treated to a few of these overlapping stories as we follow Mary Byrd, whose life was forever changed when her young stepbrother was molested and murdered. The sense of people and place is profound. Excellent writing, with characters and events that will stick with you. A good piece of literature that I will read again.

[bogopea · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Did not like anything about the book: style of writing, protagonist, or story. Could not read it.

[lanafun · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

'Flying Shoes' is an interesting, and appropriate, title for Lisa Howorth's novel. Like many readers, I pick up a book, consider the title and cover image, glance over the blurbs and dive in eagerly. Most books are clearly represented, but this novel is not easily surmised by any of the typical attributes. Yes, I know, don't judge a book by its cover. Flying Shoes is presented as a mystery. When the character of Mary Byrd Thornton receives a phone call in her Mississippi home concerning a 30-year-old cold case of her murdered stepbrother, it sets the story in motion. The path it takes, however, is not one that is expected. In fact, the story becomes less and less about the mystery and more about the thoughts of the protagonist as she muddles through her middle-age life - demanding children, lukewarm marriage, aging mother.

Set in the South, the novel is full of colorful and intriguing characters. The minor characters are not fully developed but it is easy to imagine their lives. Howorth ties the characters together in unexpected ways, from a truck driver who gives Mary a ride during a dangerous winter storm to a housekeeper who deals with a family tragedy of her own and evokes an empathetic response from Mary. With all the bits and pieces given about the characters, I found myself wanting to know more but, like the mystery that unfolds slowly, there is plenty of room for imagination. That, of course, is not a detriment to the story, but I enjoy characters who I come to know and miss when the last page is read.

The novel, based on the author's experience of the loss of her stepbrother, is worth reading but be sure to approach the book with an open mind. It is a bit like flying shoes. You can't be certain where it will land. Enjoy!

*I received Flying Shoes in a Goodreads giveaway.*

[klmesoftly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was interesting, and not what I expected based on the back cover blurb ("woman gets a phone call about new leads in her brother's murder case, 30 years after the original investigation"). It's less crime novel than slice of life reflection on family dynamics, aging, class/race relations...all against the backdrop of rural Mississippi. I'm glad I picked it up, it was a nice surprise and really hard to put down, especially once Mary Byrd makes her trip to Virginia to sit down with the police officer regarding her brother's death.