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You know how sometimes a sensitive film about emotional issues is referred to
as a "chick flick"? Well, John Searles's debut novel BOY STILL MISSING is
anything but. It runs on a heavy dose of testosterone and ideas that we've
seen examined in many a TV movie. If you're interested in hackneyed stories
about drunken dads, mistresses, and the sons who sleep with them, then BOY
STILL MISSING is right up your alley.
Our protagonist Dominick has a lousy life --- after all, it's swinging 1971,
and he spends most of his time trying to make his mother's life easier by
dragging his bingeing dad out of any number of sleazy bars. The dad not only
has a penchant for the drunken bum life but he also has a mistress, a steamy
and seductive woman named Edie. Dominick, of course, enters into a passionate
affair with her and ends up getting involved in a strange and mysterious
murder. Now, he finds out that his seemingly put-upon mom actually has some
nasty secrets of her own, and he goes to New York to discover what they might
be. Then he gets involved with a nice girl whose life he also puts in danger.
This guy is a walking time bomb.
BOY STILL MISSING is part thriller, part erotic drama. Dominick means well
but never does anything particularly nice and continues to get into more and
more trouble. Each person he involves himself with, whether it's family or
not, ends up leading him into the darkest places of his heart, rendering him
virtually unable to do much good for himself or anyone else. I found his
character weak and not very convincing, and his travails too Aaron
Spelling-esque for their own good. I'm sure Searles, Cosmo's book editor,
might be better off trying to listen to his own heart than recreating the
melodramatic TV versions of someone else's.
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
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