A surprising book where the suspense is masterful and leads us into a story of senseless disappearance, bringing to the surface an old tragedy which is an unintentional accident, having caused incurable trauma.

The atmosphere of the story is oppressive, and we slip into the heart of the hero's vacillating psyche. The choice of words is fantastic and you can feel the gamut from fear to horror at times.

A fascinating story that we will not forget!

The sudden disappearance of his wife plunges her husband crescendo into a descent into hell very realistic, sometimes macabre, but unbearable so much the words strike us deep within us.
The enigma escalates further as a burnt and unidentifiable body is found in the couple's own car!

Captivating! ( )

THE GREEN HOUSE, by Dan Lawton

In The Green House, Dan Lawton turns out a poetic and pragmatic introspective character study of Girard, a man with a complicated, tragic past who is hit by a catastrophic loss that levels him. The circumstantial evidence surrounding the loss (that places him as suspect) is such that it creates doubts in Girard, and so his inner process is multi-layered and convoluted. In all his grief, Girard longs to fully experience his feelings, though psyciatric medication numbs him, and to physically weep, though one of his tear ducts was damaged in an accident years before.

"Confusing, right? That was how he felt - confused daily, unsure what was real and what was not. Was he permanently hardened to emotion after all he had been through that he physically could not get to the point of outwardly expressing it anymore? Or was he incapable of expressing it because his brain was tranquilized because of the medication? Or was it a combination of both, or neither? It was a daily struggle as he tried to navigate through the minefield of his impotent brain."

Girard finds comfort in solace in The Green House, his greenhouse, a haven and holder of secrets he painted green. Each flower has a symbolic meaning for Girard and his wife. Dan introduces the reader to parts of the man as he weaves each color and type of flower through Girard's narrative.

"The thing about the amaryllis, what made it unique, was it's shape. Florists commonly said its petals looked like a trumpet, the way they curled at the edges and formed a tunnel at the mouth. Girard was not so sure about that. He saw the center of the amaryllis as more of a black hole with banks that would inevitably cave in, yet never seemed to. Or maybe that was a metaphor for Girard's life, a way to symbolize the nightmare that was his existence. Either way, the irony was striking. Whether the amaryllis was a floral representation of Girard's life, or if it was the trumper of the garden, it had a profound effect on him."

Dan's suspenseful writing style drew me from the beginning. I found myself unable to put the book down. Here he describes Girard's relationship with Miriam, his wife with whom he counted on to help him navigate through each day. Now she has gone missing:

"The scent hit him then, and he closed his eyes. It was faint, the scent, like the way the house smelled when Miriam baked. Girard could tell when she was up to something, even from inside the green house. He would sometimes get the sense Miriam was busying herself in the kitchen, even if what he got a whiff of was phantom. It was love he smelled, and that was not something one could measure . But Girard could - he could tell when Miriam was having a good day. The good days were the best kind. They reminded him of what made the bad ones worth it."

Here, the author illustrates the struggle to function and move forward when steeped in grief:

"Girard almost smiled. He felt at peace. He was ready to continue living, to somehow start to rebuild after the biggest tragedy of his life - and that was significant. Girard went to the kitchen and did something he had not done in more than forty years: He made a meal. And it was not awful."

The book ends with a lifeview that differs from my own, yet the outstanding qualities of Dan's delicate descriptions of the complex human experience are what remain with me days after turning the last page. I plan to read more books by Dan Lawton, a master of intrigue. ( )

The Greenhouse is a story of loss, regret, and redemption. The protagonist, Girard, wakes one morning to find his wife, Miriam, missing, then receives the worst news a husband can get—that his wife's car has plunged off the highway and she is dead. As Girard tries to cope with this tremendous loss, he slowly reveals his less-than-perfect history with his family, riddled with betrayal and tragedy. Dan Lawton uniquely uses the colors and textures from the flowers grown in Girard's prized greenhouse to convey the many layers of grief, melancholy, and finally, depression. His excessive description of Girard's thoughts is somewhat distracting and takes the reader to a very dark place. Still, the ending brings the betrayal and loss to an unexpected and satisfying end. ( )

This is a pretty dark book. The Green House deals with grief, regret and depression. Girard , the main character lives within a cycle of all three which makes for a life of sadness as well as a yearning for redemption. This book is also an intricate look at family dynamics and mental health. The pace is incredibly slow and small tidbits of information are added along the way but stick with it, the book wraps up nicely and gives more than a glimmer of hope and better times ahead. ( )

Not the cheeriest of books! But a well crafted story of how the main character, Girard, copes with trauma, death, grief and love. Not have been in the particular circumstances myself, the narrative may be a very accurate portrayal of mental health struggles after a traumatic event. I found Girard’s ruminations a bit slow at times, but then this is probably realistic. The characters were clearly defined which helped embed them into the story quickly.