What: At the beginning of The Good Children, the McNair family is a mother, a father, two sons, and two daughters. Early on, the father dies in an industrial accident. The distraught mother is determined that nothing will separate her from her children, who range in age from six to fifteen. Soon after, she is killed in an accident at home. The terrified kids bury their mother's body in the backyard and start building the illusion that she is still alive. Author Kate Wilhelm expertly describes how the elaborate deception leads to shifting allegiances among the four remaining McNairs, and how the psychological cracks begin to show.
Comparable to: The plot sounds Gothic, but Wilhelm carefully builds suspense with a spare, unsentimental, straightforward style that is more noir-inclined.
Representative quote: "When you've got family, you don't need anything else."
You might not like it if: You are familiar Kate Wilhelm through her Nebula Award-winning, modern sci-fi classic Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, and you're expecting something similar here. There is no sci-fi in The Good Children.
How to get it: Not too difficult to find used or at your library.
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