An officer is assigned to a seemingly tranquil coastal police station, but his teenaged daughter sees its comings and goings through different eyes in Masatsugu Ono's Echo on the Bay.
Ono's story starts out a bit whimsical, with comical and colorful characters, but pretty soon we uncover backstories that involve dark themes, including child abuse, sexual abuse, and murder.
This makes for an unsettling, enigmatic read.
Ono offers a lot to think about, including a deer--or something else?--hit by the policeman on a late night, and the origins of a "ghost ship" that appears offshore after a red tide.
Echo on the Bay has elements of the crime novel, but is most successful as a literary work with dark undertones for discerning readers.
I got this for Christmas and read it quickly.
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