Visitation Street, by Ivy Pochoda

Ivy Pochoda, Visitation Street. New York: Ecco (an imprint of HarperCollins), 2013. 304 pages. ISBN 9780062249890.

Visitation Street is the first book published under Dennis Lehane's purview at HarperCollins. As a big fan of Mr. Lehane, I was interested to see what kind of book he selected for his line. I am happy to say that I wasn't disappointed with this book. It tells a story that weaves the actions of a number of characters together. Set in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, Visitation Street tells us about the events that lead up to and follow the mysterious disappearance of a young girl named June. An immigrant shop owner, an alcoholic musician, and a schoolgirl and other local characters provide much of the action. Everyone wants to know what happened to June and they try various ways to learn more about her fate, which is revealed in the final pages.

Visitation Street is Ms. Pochoda's second novel (after The Art of Disappearing), and it is well written and engaging. Readers will have a hard time putting this book down. I'll be looking forward to more books by Ms. Pochoda, and more books discovered and brought to us by Dennis Lehane.