If there’s any chance your child may ever go away to university, you might want to stop reading right now.
Seriously? You’re still reading? All the fears and dread of letting go of a child, and herein all the worst consequences will — OK, your choice.
Fine then, at least read the outstanding murder mystery You Belong Here and then implore your child never, not ever, to attend Virginia’s Wyatt U in idyllic Wyatt Valley, where the townies and the gownies are in a murderous symbiotic relationship.
You Belong Here
Our tale technically revolves around two women, but it’s fair to say it’s three women — because Beckett Bowery is a key character, having gone to Wyatt 20 years ago and having maybe been involved in something absolutely horrid. And now here she is again as her daughter Delilah enrols for first year at Wyatt.
American author Megan Miranda has been writing murder mysteries and young adult novels since 2011. The general rule in such books is that everyone is lying and everyone has secrets.
Well, sure, all of us have secrets, but ask your book club for a show of hands: how many have a secret that could get them murdered? Or how many have a secret for which they would murder to protect it — and how many have murdered to protect their secret? Granted, there’s little chance you’ll get a straight answer to that last one.
Whatever awful thing happened decades ago on the ivy-covered campus affected so many lives.
Beckett is a single mother, though Delilah’s father Trevor is a really nice guy who has a terrific relationship with his daughter. He still rues his reaction when Beckett announced she was pregnant. No do-overs, guy.
Wyatt is a private school, with tuition way out of the reach of most of the young people in the mountain town. The students are, like, totally snooty in their contempt for the barely-literate hillbillies.
Beckett got into Wyatt because both her parents were profs, which entitled her to free tuition.
A huge plot point is a hazing tradition called The Howling, occurring when the first winds of winter blew down from the mountains and howled through the forest surrounding campus. Just work with Miranda on this one, all right?
It was supposedly limited to students, but the townies knew all about it and knew the woods better than the students did. Cue the ominous music.
That fateful night, two townie louts snuck around for motives mysterious and somehow got locked in the tunnels under the campus. Beckett’s weird roommate set a fire and the two men burned to death; the roommate scarpered, never to be seen again.
The police and the town believed Beckett had aided and abetted both the murders and the getaway, though she denied everything. Lack of evidence, but the school kicked Beckett out, and legends grew.
Two decades later, Delilah enrols at Wyatt, knowing something happened back in the day, but mom never really shared the details. Delilah wins a scholarship, off she goes, caring not that mom is distraught.
Delilah’s grandparents have left on a scholarly trip to Peru. They retired kind of early for tenured profs. Odd how they turn off their wifi when they leave and odder still that they don’t want Beckett staying in their house when she suddenly comes to Wyatt because of — well, you’ll find out.
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
The campus, the town, the people, the cops, the old friends, many of them are still around and they have long memories. We’ll find out what happened the night of the murders bit by bit through flashbacks, secrets unveiled a dollop at a time.
Someone is sneaking about, doing nasty things. And The Howling will arrive any day now. And what suddenly happens to Delilah — well, as if you’re going to find out here.
Megan Miranda does a crackerjack job building up suspense and dread.
Remember, you can’t legally stop an 18-year-old from going away if she insists, even if The Howling calls.
Retired Free Press reporter Nick Martin watched both his kids go to a small school far away. He doubts he’s heard the full story of the Blair Witch figures on the drumlin.