Genre: Mystery
Description:
“Dreams of Arcadia is the story of Nate Holub, a Houston
veterinarian with two teenage daughters. Nate accepts a job in his late
father’s hometown but wonders if a city boy truly has what it takes to be a
country vet. As he struggles to adjust, he reconnects with his family and
discovers that his father’s accidental death thirty years earlier was much more
complicated than he realized.
Nate probes the past, afraid of what he might find. He encounters a
resentful cousin, a wary town patriarch, a reclusive uncle and his
long-sequestered daughter, a beguiling hidden garden, a mysterious illness, and
a war widow who shows him that love is still possible. He is drawn to the Holub
family farm, where he seeks refuge in nature and tries desperately to reach
Viola, his inscrutable grandmother. The farm is a place that haunts his memory,
a place where dark family secrets dwell.
Dreams of Arcadia is a plot-driven mystery story, but it could
also be viewed as an allegory for our ultimate reliance on the natural world,
for the healing power of nature. The setting is a colorful and culturally
distinct region of Texas settled by Czech and German immigrants, not the Texas
of popular imagination.”
Author:
“Brian Porter lives in College Station, Texas, where he works as a
veterinary pathologist. He previously worked in private veterinary practice and
once taught high school chemistry. Dreams of Arcadia is his first novel.”
Appraisal:
While the majority of this book takes place in the non-existent DeLeon
County, Texas, it could be several counties within a couple hundred miles to the
west or northwest of Houston and be a good fit. Several story threads keep things
interesting, from the obvious one (is the protagonist Nate going to manage the
transition from being a vet for mostly dogs and cats in Houston to one that deals
primarily with cows out in the country), to the mystery that quickly comes to
light regarding the whole story behind the death of Nick’s dad thirty years
before.
I found the contrast between living in the city compared to rural farm
country as well as the struggles a divorced father goes through as presented in
this story to be credible and thought provoking. The relationship between Nate
and his extended family who still live in this rural area where Nate’s dad grew
up as well as the complication that can happen in a place so small that it
seems like everyone knows everyone else keeps the story interesting as well. All
in all, this was a unique and engaging story.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
Some adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Review is based on an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) and I can’t gauge the
final product in this area.
Rating: *****
Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words
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