A Search for Family
Review of the House of Anansi paperback edition (June 2021)

Ian Hamilton is primarily known for his forensic accountant Ava Lee thrillers (14 and counting) and his Uncle Chow Tung triad prequels (3 and counting). Although Bonnie Jack is a stand-alone family-drama-fiction diversion from the crime and thriller genre, Hamilton instinctively still frames his chapters with cliffhanger endings that compel you to keep on reading. So long time fans will not be disappointed, even if Ava Lee doesn't show up to face down the baddies with her Bak mai martial arts skills and Uncle Chow doesn't have to call his triad's Red Pole to order his 49'ers and Blue Lanterns to go to the mattresses.

Bonnie Jack is a fictional story inspired by author Hamilton's father's own real-life experience of being an abandoned child left up to adoption and relocation to Canada from Scotland. Late in life he revealed this to his family after keeping it a secret for 50 years and he proceeded to track down the lost relatives that he could find. This is explained in the author's Afterword.

Hamilton takes this basic premise and structures his novel around a millionaire American insurance businessman who makes the same revelations to his family during a Thanksgiving dinner. He has tracked down his sister in Scotland and decides to visit her in order to better understand the events of his childhood. He goes with his wife Anne and discovers even more family secrets while there and more living relatives than he had expected. There is even a brush with the criminal gang elements of Scotland and with dodgy investment bankers & criminal lawyers which a Hamilton fan will recognize as a nod to Ava Lee.

The millionaire 'Bloody'/'Bonnie' Jack Anderson is not actually a very likeable character, but he is blessed with the presence of the more insightful and personable presence of his wife Anne at his side during this adventure. In fact, as a bonus for Hamilton's Estonian-Canadian fans (of which I can say I am one) there is this exchange early in the book:

She looked at Anne.
"You're very blonde. Is the colour real?
"It is. My family is Estonian and we're all blonde."
"Estonian. Is that Christian?"
"Very Christian. My father was a Lutheran minister."

I wonder if this part of the story has any basis in real-life Hamilton family fact? ( )

This is a quick, easy read, good for a summer day on the beach or at the cottage or in a Muskoka chair in the back yard.

Jack Anderson was abandoned by his mother in a Glasgow movie theatre when he was six years old. She left to take his sister Moira to the washroom and never returned. He is now a successful multi-millionaire nearing retirement. In all those years, he has not told his wife Anne and their children about his past. After finally sharing his story of abandonment and adoption, he and Anne travel to Scotland to see Moira whom he has located. While in the country of his birth, Jack learns he has more family than Moira, and meeting them has unexpected consequences.

The novel is very readable. What irritated me, however, are the unnecessary details that are included. For instance, do we really need to know what everyone is drinking? At the beginning we learn that “Anne liked gin martinis [while] her husband drank Scotch.” In fact, there are over 25 references to Scotch, not including mentions of Scotch eggs and Scotch pies! Some of the conversations don’t sound natural; for example, would a wife say to her husband of many years, “’You know I have a degree in English literature from UMass Amherst’”?

Descriptions of houses focus on windows and doors: Jack and Anne’s house “had two storeys, with six windows on the upper floor facing the road, and two huge windows on either side of a bright red double door on the ground floor." Later, we have this description: “Harry’s house was built of brick, with a red slate roof, a large window to the left of the front door, and three windows across the front of the second storey.” Then a pub “had a brown brick façade that was black in places, and small, dirty windows on either side of a glass door etched with thistles.” Moira lives “in the middle of a row of rather grimlooking houses, their doors set into walls of grey stone with windows on either side. Some of the doors had been painted bright colours.” This fixation on windows extends to characters always walking to a window and looking out; this happens at least 15 times.

There is considerable suspense. Chapters often end on a dramatic note with announcements like “’He’s dead’” and “’She’s had a visit from one of the Baxter boys. We need to talk.’” Unfortunately, there are elements that require some suspension of disbelief. Duncan Pike, “a top-notch lawyer,” becomes important in the latter part of the book, but some of his behaviour is rather shady, if not illegal. And “’Scottish criminal royalty . . . who run most of the drug and prostitution business’” and are not averse to physical violence would feel bound by a contract?

Jack is not a likeable character. His nickname in the business world is Bloody Jack, and he admits, “’I didn’t get the nickname Bloody Jack by being a nice guy. I trust no one. Everyone is disposable.’” He also admits to having trust issues; he has kept secrets from his wife and children for much of his life and his conversations concerning postponing his retirement are never mentioned to Anne: “’I love Anne, but there are things I don’t tell her, and some of those things she has a right to know. ‘” I don’t understand what Jack’s appeal is to Anne; she always seems to be walking on eggshells and reacting so as not to upset him. He has difficulty accepting people who disagree with him, and he seems incapable of forgiveness. When he makes what most people would consider a right decision, it is only because of his own self-interest and fear. And we are to believe that such a successful man has not really given more thought to his retirement and what that entails? In terms of character, Jack is not Bonnie Jack, and I found it difficult to care about what might happen to him.

There are many unanswered questions at the end, so I would not recommend the book to anyone who likes complete closure. Despite its flaws, it is entertaining.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )