The Lonely Witness by William Boyle

 

Amy is drifting through life.  She moved to Brooklyn with her lover, Allesandra, and stayed there out of inertia when Allesandra moved on to Los Angeles.  These days she lives by herself in a basement apartment and takes Communion to house bound residents.  She arrives at the home of one of her regulars to find her upset because her usual home help had not been but her son had shown up saying his mother was sick.  The elderly woman didn't trust the son and suspected him of stealing things.  Amy stays and meets the man, Vincent, and sends him on his way.

Suspicious now, Amy starts to follow Vincent to see what he is up to.  She gets more than she bargains for when she witnesses Vincent's murder.  She doesn't go to the police and tell them she is a witness but decides to investigate for herself.  As she does she finds herself drawn further and further into a criminal plot and is soon unsure how to extract herself.

This novel was nominated for several prizes, the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere and the Hammett.  Boyle was raised in Brooklyn and this familiarity with the borough is evident in the novel.  Amy is a character who the reader will emphasize with and cheer for, her basic goodness shining through the routine she finds herself in these days.  No matter what life throws at her, she finds a way to be there for others and to do what is right.  This book is recommended for literary fiction and mystery readers.