Free Reign

Although this book is now out of print, it would be worth hunting for because the main character of the book - Ellis Portal - is definitely a different type of hero.Although street people are not people I normally come in contact with, I began to appreciate the problems Ellis Portal faced the more I got into the book.This book is definitely work looking for and reading.

Once a powerful judge, Ellis Portal was convicted of a felony and disgraced. His life style has changed drastically. He is now living as a homeless person in a ravine along a Toronto river. While working in his vegetable garden, he finds a ring with a black hand attached to it. Ellis recognizes the ring as one of five that was exchanged between himself and four other law school graduates (all of whom were white). When the rings were exchanged, they were accompanied by a vow that each of them would perform one favor, no questions asked, for each of the others. During the book, this favor is called in twice for Ellis. In order to solve the mystery of the ring, Portal needs to go back into the civilized world. When he does so as a vagrant, he is treated without respect. When he goes through great lengths to appear "normal", he is accepted. He first visits another street person, Queenie, who cannot help him but asks him to see how a young woman named Moonstar is doing. Moonstar is a prostitute who spent some time at a hostel called "Second Chances". She is convinced that the well-to-do hostel is responsible for spiriting away several people, including newborn babies of some of the women who reside there. Although this seems implausible to Ellis, he agrees to look into it. His main connection whohelps in his investigation is a reporter named Aliana who treated him fairly during his worst ordeals. She is kind and helpful. She also serves a useful purpose in the story of being able to tap into information that Ellis needs to investigate Second Chances and the other lawyers with whom he made his pact. The first two-thirds of the book were thought-provoking as it made the reader consider attitudes toward the unfortunates of society. However, the last third veered off into fantastic events, clichés and unbelievable happy endings for almost everybody. Aubert writes with great sensitivity about the intricacies of life on the streets as well as other issues such as prostitution, homosexuality and the vagaries of the justice system, all of which make this a book worth reading in spite of the overly fortuitous plot resolutions.

Believe it or not, the story works. Rosemary Aubert writes like a dream. Her protagonist, Ellis Portal, offers us a glimpse into a world we hope never to enter. The mystery is as compelling as the hero. I'm not going to go on and on about the story as some reviewers do. I'll only say this: To those mystery lovers who yearn for a masterfully told tale, snap this one up!

Hero Ellis Portal was once a judge but now lives in a hut in Toronto's river park area. The novel is as much the story of his mental and emotional recovery as the solving of a crime. Aubert vividly describes the life of the homeless and the class barriers we all, often unintentionally, erect. Superb writing overcome a somewhat weak and rushed ending. Kathleen T. Choi, HAWAII CATHOLIC HERALD

This is another book review by Wolfie and Kansas, the boonie dogs from Toto, Guam. Normally we do not review books that do not have some sort of dog angle calling for a canine perspective in a review. However, we enjoyed "Free Reign" so much that we could not pass up an opportunity to recommend it to other readers, canine and non-canine alike.The hero of this novel, Ellis Portal, had been a respected judge. However, he had episodes when he went rabid, with the result that he became a stray human, living in a boonie area in a wilderness preserve in Toronto. He is nicer than most stray humans, as he usually eats plants and vegetables, and seldom competes with the likes of us for leftover meat in dumpsters.One day Portal finds a detached human forepaw in his hidden garden, prompting him to try to solve a murder mystery. While this plot sounds very similar to that in George Dawes Green's "The Caveman's Valentine", "Free Reign" is not a rip-off. Ellis Portal is the most interesting noncanine character we have come across in our reading so far this summer. Although we liked (and highly recommend) "The Caveman's Valentine", we like "Free Reign" even better. Hopefully Portal will make his way back to the boonies for a sequel, and author Rosemary Aubert will give him a boonie dog next time around