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    THE FERRYMAN WILL BE THERE by Rosemary Aubert

    AN ELLIS PORTAL MYSTERY

    Bridge Works Publishing, 2001

    When the police ask former Judge and former homeless person Ellis Portal to help find a girl missing since her father’s death, Portal wants to object. He has problems of his own including losing his home, a long separation from his son, and a multimillion dollar tax burden. Still, Toronto (Canada) Police Detective Matt West is insistent and Portal finds himself re-exploring the haunts of the homeless. He comes across repeated mention of a mysterious Ferryman, although no one can explain exactly what the Ferryman is, or what he has to offer.

    THE FERRYMAN WILL BE THERE provides a convincing view of Toronto’s underlife. While the rich live oblivious lives, the poor struggle to find housing, to keep themselves warm as winter approaches. To some, even a cave in an urban canyon, or an abandoned parking garage sounds like heaven. Portal has been there, giving him a unique insight into the people he wants to help.

    Insight and empathy for the homeless are the great strength of THE FERRYMAN WILL BE THERE. Although Portal’s story is told from first person point of view (an ‘I’ rather than a ‘he’), and we learn a great deal of Portal’s emotional confusion, the novel lacks a real sense of drive. Although Portal would like to find the missing girl, he is only tangentially involved and this limited involvement makes it difficult to commit fully to the novel. Every character, from Portal down, is filled with intense emotional drives which are difficult to understand or empathize with.

    Author Rosemary Aubert also cheats the reader by introducing a huge shadowy corporation and sinister bad-guy, neither of which has anything to do with the story. By not offering the reader any information about possible suspects in the murder, Aubert fails to use a major tool in bringing in the reader.

    Aubert’s concept of a formerly homeless ex-judge walking the tightrope between affluence and indigence is compelling and her compassion for the poor and homeless is admirable. Aubert strengthens this experience with writing that is both is smooth and agreeable. The major flaw in this novel is Aubert’s failure to bridge between big social issues that obviously concern her deeply and the reader’s emotional involvement.

    Two Stars

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