Marlborough Street

Alan Simpson is an unusual kind of guy, a bit scruffy and seedy looking, and complacent in his lifestyle. He likes to hum classical tunes, rooms with a cat named Dusty, lives on Marlborough Street in Boston and roots for the Red Sox. He day jobs (if that's a verb) as a private secretary for an eccentric millionaire with the unlikely name of Pottston Phipps. And Alan is also a bit psychic. Actually, he's a mediocre psychic. His mother is heaps more occultly gifted than he is. But,occasionally, Alan uses his prescience to help out his friend Police Detective Kelliher on cases. This time out, the young son of the mayor has been kidnapped. But the vision that comes to Alan is unsettling. Something seems to be mockingly aware of him; then, a haunting image of a beautiful woman's face appears in the vision. Alan gums up the works when he falls for Julia, the owner of that face. But Julia is a pawn of Seth Stone, an amoral man of considerable paranormal abilities. Alan's romance hits a snag when Seth enters the picture and takes Julia away to California. Being warned by his mother that if he goes, he won't come back, Alan decides to follow his heart anyway. Goodbye, complacency. Very, very soon, Alan finds himself in deadly confrontation with a malignant psychic talent whose powers dwarf his own. Richard Bowker writes Marlborough Street with a direct, simple style and an understated flair. He couches his words in a way that lets the reader sink comfortably into the outrageous premise of his tale. His portrayal of unassuming, down-to-earth Alan Simpson is a big component in the likability of the book. Bowker eschews the standard romantic model of the female love interest with his depiction of the wayward girl, Julia. Julia might be in love with Alan. Yet Seth's overpowering influence on her makes her disregard and discard him time and time again. With this quasi love triangle, the author heartbreakingly explores the varying degrees of love, obsession and power. This book is very good, very enjoyable. Other works by Richard Bowker I recommend are Replica (about a replicated American president in the near future) and Dover Beach (sci-fi about a P.I. in a war-devastated America).