Review: There Was an Old Woman by Hallie Ephron |

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (April 2, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0062117602
Source: Publisher

Evie isn’t all together surprised when she receives a call from her sister, Ginger, indicating their mother has been hospitalized. Sandra, an alcoholic, has frequent health “issues” as a result of her drinking and her daughters assume this incident is the same. Evie reluctantly agrees to go to Sandra’s house and get to the bottom of the problem. The condition of the house is absolutely horrid; covered with graffiti and filled with overflowing bags of empty vodka bottles. As she attempts to clean up the ruin, she is reunited with their elderly neighbor, Mina. Their relationship rekindles, much to the dismay of Mina’s nephew who is struggling to get Mina to agree to move to a nursing home.

Mina has her own host of issues. Her mental health appears to be deteriorating; she often forgets where she’s placed items, forgets food cooking on the stove, etc. Not helping the situation is her persistent and deceptive nephew. She’s drawn to Evie, who works as a curator at the Five-Boroughs Historical Society, because of their shared interest in preserving history.

As Evie becomes more involved in the goings on of her childhood neighborhood, she realizes at once that something is amiss. Homes that stood during her childhood are now being demolished. Her mother, barely getting by on her father’s pension, is now receiving packages full of bundled cash. Is it a coincidence that two of the few remaining individuals who own property on this incredibly historic (and valuable) land are so ill and unstable? It becomes Evie’s mission to get to the bottom of what is transpiring, putting her life at risk in order to save childhood memories that are slowly being destroyed.

Alternating between the viewpoints of Evie and Mina, Ephron develops an genuinely suspenseful read. The development of these characters, so rich and descriptive, is so pristine and genuine. Readers, myself included, will have a difficult time determining just who can be trusted. Are Evie and Sandra elderly women, far beyond their prime, unable mentally and physically to continue living on their own or is there something far darker (and deadly) amiss?

The pacing of this novel is relatively slow, building up in intensity with time. What starts off as a novel with a quiet neighborhood as its setting ultimately is revealed as community rich with corruption and greed. While this novel isn’t as dark and suspenseful as many of Ephron’s other works, the author instead draws you in with an engrossing storyline and incredibly sympathetic characters. Additionally, in executing this fine piece of suspense, Eprhon touches on a number of social issues including ageism and alcoholism. There Was an Old Woman is guaranteed to intrigue and captivate readers of all genres. Highly, highly recommended.