Canadian McCormack has written a darkly obscure story that's as mesmerizing as it is mystifying. Set in the isolated British mining village of Carrick, the tale is related by newspaper reporter James Maxwell years after he learned of the town's odd history. Carrick has been the victim of several disasters: a plague that wiped out its entire population after turning its normally reserved citizens into loquacious gossips; a suspicious mining disaster during World War II that killed an entire camp of German prisoners; and a horrifying accident that collapsed a bridge and killed dozens of Carrick's male citizens. Were these disasters part of a curse, a terrible act of retribution, or the result of the town's efforts to cloak its most damaging secrets behind a web of lies? Maxwell tries to discover the elusive truth by piercing together the stories behind the lives of Carrick's leading citizens, but years after the fact, he's still uncertain about where the mystery ends and truth begins. McCormack's story will not only appeal to mystery fans, but also to readers of more literary fiction. Emily Melton