It was Westchester, 1978. Mira was a senior in high school and a golf phenomenon. She was also having an affair with a forty two year old neighbor which began when she was fifteen. She was known for her temper, smoked a lot of weed, crashed her parent's car into a stop sign, and bashed her date's car window to pieces with a golf club when he tried to have sex with her. She was on track for Yale or perhaps, the LPGA golf tour when it happened. As Mira was hitting some practice balls into a net near the caddyshack, one slipped through and immediately killed classmate Kenny Foster. She never touched a golf club again.
Even though Kenny also lived in the exalted town of Talmadge, he and his family were definitely NOKD (not our kind, dear). His dad drove a car painted with an advertisement for his company. Kenny's family had moved in recently, and while he was smart, he needed those caddy tips for college. His parents were inconsolable and out for blood. They decided to sue the golf club, the makers of the net, and Mira, for involuntary manslaughter. Not only would there be a civil suit, but a criminal suit wasn't out of the question-and Mira was no saint.
Bohjalian has set himself a big challenge-make an extremely unreliable and very unlikeable young woman the heroine of a novel. With so many strikes against Mira, the reader isn't sure what's going to happen to her or whether it's going to even matter. Does he succeed? Stick with this book to find out.
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