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Review by Arlene Germain
Imperfect Past by Jessica Casavant

Imperfect Past is the third installment of Jessica Casavant’s Boston Friends’ Series. Jamie Saunders, a Boston PD detective, and her partner Alex Ryan are investigating the murder of an eight year-old girl. This heinous crime has affected Jamie far more than most cases, and it’s beginning to take its emotional toll. Her already vulnerable condition is further exacerbated by an additional case, the murder in a posh downtown hotel of Chief Justice Reynolds, a man whose identity Jamie would rather not delve into for a variety of personal reasons. Complicate this situation even more when Jamie discovers that her partner in a casual one-night stand during the night of the murder, Shane Scott, is now a prime suspect! By withholding evidence and committing various sins of omission, Jamie attempts to solve these cases on her own. As the events intensify, Jamie Saunders’ actions threaten her relationships, jeopardize her job with the police department, and plunge her self-esteem to an unprecedented low. Willing to neither examine her troubling past nor ponder her uncertain future, Detective Saunders seems to be descending into a morass from which she sees no deliverance.

One of the advantages of the Casavant Boston Friends’ series of books is that the main characters skillfully float in and out of the plotlines in each novel so that the reader can enjoy them in no particular order. The close circle of friends presents alternating main characters for each story. Each woman has her moment while the others provide supporting details. This enables the author to explore through her continuing narrative the many plot possibilities for each character.

Casavant’s writing style is forthright with the emphasis upon dialogue. As the characters speak to one another, one has the sense that she is listening to authentic conversation. The tone used, especially that of Jamie, deftly conveys the conundrum that this woman believes has enveloped her. Even incidental speeches in their frank and concise manner serve to move the story along at a rapid tempo. Credible dialogue augments not only the characters but the actions of those characters. When Jamie asks Shane a question and is promptly told to “Go to hell,” Jamie responds, “Thanks anyway. I’ve been there since I first laid eyes on you” (p. 52).

The author has created conflict on several levels throughout her storytelling, and the unexpected twists and turns experienced by the characters immerse the reader in a web of deceit so absorbing that one logically discovers along with the detectives just where the pieces fall into the puzzle. Far too many books solve their mysteries without a hint of credible or legitimate foreshadowing, and this inevitably will cause the reader to feel somehow deceived. Casavant writes a plausible and satisfying denouement.

The sexual encounters are tastefully explicit. One can sense the uncertainty, ambivalence, tenderness, and confusion when Jamie interacts with her partners. The irony of a brief, emotionally meaningless dalliance’s affecting the course of so many lives is skillfully written, from the clever barroom pick up to the reaction of Alex to Jamie’s involvement. There is a commendable balance of romance and mystery here which is attributable to Casavant’s understanding of pacing.

Imperfect Past is well worth the investment of time for the reader. It is a tightly written novel with interesting plot devices, likable characters, and pleasing Boston and its environs setting. This is a worthy addition to Casavant’s series. Having read all three installments, with Twist of Fate (Book One) still my favorite segment, I look forward to the release of the fourth novel in the series.

ARLENE GERMAIN is currently a book reviewer for the OutLook Press, Lambda Book Report, the Midwest Book Review, the Independent Gay Writer, the Golden Crown Literary Society newsletter, The Crown, and the JustAboutWrite.com Newsletter/e-zine. She is also a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. A former English teacher who resides in Massachusetts with her partner and two dogs, Arlene enjoys travel, music, film and theater, writing poetry, golf, and the beach. Feel free to drop her an email.

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