Distant Sons

The richly satisfying latest from Johnston (The Current) examines the decades-long effects of an unsolved missing persons case on a small Midwestern town. When Sean Courtland’s truck breaks down in rural Wisconsin, he decides to stay a while, picking up a construction job from local outcast Marion Devereaux, whom many believe was involved in the disappearance of three young boys in the 1970s. While hanging out at a neighborhood bar, Sean meets Dan Young, another drifter whom he invites to help with plumbing at the Devereaux property. At the same establishment, mistakenly punches waitress Denise Givens while attempting to defend her in a bar fight, thus putting himself on the radar of detective Corrine Viegas, whose father failed to solve the missing boys’ case decades ago. As the contemporary characters weave in and out of one another’s lives, Johnston peppers in flashbacks to the 1970s, which engender both distrust and compassion for Marion as the past sheds increasing light on the present and everything comes to a devastating crescendo. Three-dimensional characters and a multilayered—though not overly complex—plot make this small-town saga sing. Johnston continues to impress. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Oct.)