Thursday night, February 19th, Carrie Smith came back to campus and read from her novel, Silent City. She is a 1979 graduate of the University of Michigan and the Residential College. Her mentor from her student days, Warren, introduced her. It was actually in a writing tutorial with him that she produced a story that would not only win her a third Hopwood award but also become her first novel. This novel, called Forget Harry, was published 15 years ago.
Now, it’s 2016 and her latest book has just been published. It promises to be a truly thrilling mystery. She showed the small audience gathered in the Benzinger Lounge Thursday evening the cover for the sequel. Her publisher had just sent to her the picture that afternoon. Smith turned in the second novel to her publisher earlier in the week and expects the sequel’s release to happen next winter. Following introductions and this small talk on her future work, Smith then read the first chapter from Silent City.
The first chapter is full of wit, mystery, deep reflection, humor and intrigue. We meet our main character, Detective Claire Codella returning to the NYPD after ten months of intensive chemotherapy. Smith actually started writing this work while her partner was undergoing a similar chemo treatment to her main character. Claire Codella is described vividly and as a survivor. In addition to meeting Codella and her fellow officers, the first chapter contains the scene of the crime: a dead principal. And so the mystery begins. Interwoven through the plot setup is a glimpse at Codella’s backstory which proves to be just as mysterious as the death of the local educator. Tied into his death is an apparent reflection on the flaws in our current education system that was an element of social commentary I didn’t expect. I was pleasantly surprised.
Carrie Smith is a re-emerging writer, whose first mystery novel is sure to amaze audiences. Pick up her book at Aunt Agatha’s in Ann Arbor, various other local bookstores, and on Amazon. I know I will!
