Today in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, Linda L. Richards looks at The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe. Says Richards:
For this reader, a single thing marred the sharp perfection of the plotting and prose of The Calling. That was the secret identify of the literary superhero who penned the book.
Since publication — heck, since prepublication — it has been understood that The Calling was written under a pseudonym by “a well-known North American writer.” Since the book was announced in 2007, a lot of ink has been spilled over guesses as to the identity of this writer. To be honest, having now read The Calling, I feel as though I have a fairly good idea who the writer is. In my opinion, there are few authors with the talent and experience to create characters this vivid and then place them in a plot this engrossing and intense. And, by the way, if you’re hanging in to hear my guess, give it up: I’m not going there. I suppose that, at least for now, part of the experience of reading The Calling is this mystery within a mystery. Who wrote the book? Time will tell.
The full review is here.
C’mon! Give us an idea who you think it is!
Not gonna do it! Part of my point was that the only thing that marred this wonderful book for me was trying to guess who wrote it. At a certain point though, the story took over, the characters grabbed hold and I just got caught up in the magic of the fiction. That, to me, was ultimately more important than who wove the spell. And I suspect that’s why The Calling it was published under an unfamiliar name: there are authors who are weighty enough that their names can overpower their stories. Maybe this author didn’t want that. That’s what I think, anyway.