February 10, 2014

In the Hands of a Masterful Writer

by • Reviews

Review of “Where is She Now” by Ina Chadwick,
Connecticut Muse Winter 2009

“There is no doubt you’re in a
masterful writer’s hands when
the first page of a book sets a
scene so visceral, so clearly
evoked that you know you’re going on a bleak
journey whether you want to or not.
In Frances Gilbert’s grim, deftly evoked tale,
Where Is She Now, a newborn’s mysterious death
propels the plot forward as the young mother,
Rosemary, who remembered the elation of seeing
her newborn with “wisps of black hair over tiny
perfect ears and long fingers over the blanket,”
disassembles in front of our eyes, leading us into a
dense fog as can only be found in a small British
working class town where the story is set.”