CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS
Laura Benedict
Ballantine Books
Thriller
ISBN: 9780345497697
Laura Benedict writes in the manner in which Bryan Ferry sings: there is a light, almost airy touch on the surface of her narrative, one that almost masks the sensuality, decadence and subtle terror of what lies beneath. When you begin reading CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS, Benedict’s latest work, I suggest Ferry’s “Slave to Love” on repeat as your background music. Not that the novel needs any accompaniment: it’s pitch-perfect on its own, an addictive and haunting wonder.
One might think from the title that Benedict has written a chick-lit novel. While it shares some of the elements of that genre --- following bffs from adolescence into adulthood, documenting joy and heartbreak --- it does so only superficially. Instead, this book will scare you, keep you up all night, and set every nerve in your body on edge and on fire. It is as if Benedict set out to complete the job left undone by Stephen King, John Updike, and yes, maybe even Dante Alighieri. There are elements of all three here, yet Benedict’s tale remains as unique and original as anything you have read recently.
CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS begins with three friends on the cusp of adolescence: Roxanne is advanced beyond her years, aware of the power of her awakening sexuality; Alice is a needy satellite caught in her orbit; and Del provides an uneasy counterbalance and buffer of relative normality between the two. The girls participate in a ceremony intended to bring to each of them a true and perfect love. Their individual destinies are decided not by this innocent, almost childish ritual (though it has an influence) but rather by an act of seduction involving Father Romero, a young Catholic priest who teaches at a Catholic girls’ school and who hides a prior sin under a strong faith but whose passions become put to ill use. Romero’s unwilling but ultimately headlong rush into sin leads to a further betrayal and the end of his vocation, a state of affairs for which he is not blameless but rather a victim as much of his own weakness as he is of the girls’ guile.
Disgraced, Romero leaves behind the school, the priesthood --- and a situation that he will not learn of for decades. Meanwhile, Del, Roxanne and Alice remain in contact as they attain adulthood, though they lead very different lives. Del is married to a widower with a child and is overwhelmed, if happily so, with the responsibilities. Roxanne is a successful artiste and, while eschewing permanent relationships, has never met a husband she couldn’t seduce. Alice is on the cusp of a failed marriage to a successful dentist who is about to leave her for a woman who is pregnant with his child.
Romero, teaching at a faraway community college, meets Varick, an enigmatic creature who is willing to give Romero the revenge he craves against the friends, in return for the ultimate price: his life. Romero, seduced in the present as he was in the past, readily agrees. Varick gradually insinuates himself into the lives of each of the women in very different ways but with increasingly horrific results. It is fascinating to watch Varick work his purposes with the women --- a process that begins quite early in the book --- particularly with Alice, who is all too willing to do Varick’s diabolical bidding, even if it means destroying the lives of innocents.
CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS is a reminder that evil rarely needs to rudely intrude into our lives; in most instances, it is invited to enter, even welcomed and embraced, though not always recognized for what it is. Benedict’s chilling narrative is by turns subtle, chilling and hauntingly erotic, as it describes events both horrific and surprisingly redemptive. Most importantly, however, from beginning to end it is as irresistible and unforgettable as a gentle, unexpected kiss from a lovely, attractive stranger first spied across a crowded room --- one that will take root in your memory and never leave.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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