The Skirt Man

Because Shelly Reuben is a licensed private detective and a certified fire investigator, you might guess THE SKIRT MAN’s plot involves fire, in this instance a dubious case of spontaneous human combustion, but it’s primarily a story about a family and the secrets of a small town in upstate New York. In the sequel of this series with the extended Bly family, Killdeer has become a refuge for some of the wealthy and socially influential of Manhattan who share it with the townies as well as various refugees of other places and unhappier circumstances.

Narrator and local newspaper reporter Annie Bly was lured away from her Gotham art gallery by marriage. Her husband, Sebastian, is a Criminal Investigator for the New York State Police and her brother, Billy Nightingale, is a Fire Marshal visiting from NYC. Add the Bly’s nineteen year-old daughter, Meredith, a ballet dancer who’s briefly in town for a charity event, and all hands are on deck for crime. The carnival of surrounding characters is distinctively drawn, idiosyncratic and charming, but most importantly, resists descending into pure caricature. Perhaps surprisingly, so does the victim, the Skirt Man, an old farmer named Morgan Mason who’s known for his terrible stutter and for wearing a skirt on his frequent tractor rides into town. Killdeer is an appealing town, but it isn’t an idyllic utopia trapped in time. It’s dealing with drugs, underage drinking, criminal vandalism, and possible municipal corruption. The author’s affection for small town life is obvious, but also her care for reality and the humanity behind even outrageous personas.

Morgan Mason is a strange enough man that he’s become isolated and unsympathetic. He’s had various disagreements over property rights with at least three neighbors and his estranged sister, too. In what’s almost a joke, two high-school boys have petitioned to put him forward as a mayoral candidate. When Mason dies in a sudden blaze in his armchair, it might seem a fittingly bizarre end for an odd bird. But a closer look by Billy and Sebastian yields plenty of questions, and the locals refuse to exploit the tragedy for the cameras. It was fascinating to learn some of the practices and theories of fire investigation, and Annie compiles them from the investigators’ recap over the kitchen table. She is the amateur sleuth here, but- perhaps because of the author’s background- displays a refreshing respect for crime scenes and the inappropriateness of disturbing or withholding evidence. However, when it comes to churning through gossip for theories, Annie is our expert, and even her ballerina daughter will slouch into the local rave scene to learn more about the recent drug trafficking.

Annie Bly is a winsome narrator, a middle-aged woman who’s cognizant of and comfortable with her limitations. She collects and frames all the characters’ movements by switching POVs and source materials which adds variety, and the ensemble plot is complex enough to branch in lots of directions. The writing is clean with poetic turns of phrase, though the story’s told with a light touch and wit, proving that while eccentricities are found in abundance in Killdeer, quirky doesn’t have to mean two-dimensional, formulaic, or unbelievable. As truths are revealed, so are several characters with startling and poignant results. Some lives will be ruined, others resuscitated by new hope and second chances, but the resolution is satisfying. THE SKIRT MAN is a terrific and human small-town mystery, and I look forward to my next walk through the fire.