In the latest from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, three men in their 60s convene on Martha's Vineyard to reminisce about their college days. When the conversation turns to a Memorial Day weekend on the Vineyard in 1971—and the disappearance of the young woman each of them loved—long-held secrets begin to emerge.
Along with his wry eye for irony and regret, [Russo] offers up a compelling mystery. Savvy readers who pride themselves on anticipating a plot twist, spotting a red herring, and identifying the who-did-it are in for a surprise ... a 21st century version of The Big Chill ... When the denouement comes, it’s a stunner. Nevertheless, all bombshells feel earned. If you’re on a hammock in the Vineyard or under a tent in Acadia, or slumped over the fire escape of your hot city apartment, chances are your chances are awfully good that you’ll lap up this gripping, wise, and wonderful summer treat.
For a while Chances Are ... turns into a mystery, and a riveting one ... and the novel culminates in a rush of revelations about all of its characters. Russo’s novels always wrestle with the complexities of human relationships, from first love to parenthood to aging, and they’re always rich with humor. He’s at the top of his fine form in Chances Are ..... Lincoln, Teddy and Mickey are flawed and damaged, but Russo treats them with such big-hearted warmth we feel as if we know them, and they’re well worth knowing.
Russo has crafted a twisty novel about lies, secrets and a missing friend's 'ghostly presence' ... his latest is often satisfying, a brisk story with memorable characters and smart things to say about loss and missed opportunities ... Two of Russo's male characters...are complex and believable. Mickey, alas, is more a type than a person, a Harley-riding rocker who isn't given many good lines ... As Russo's characters grapple with the book's central mystery, a second emerges; though this one features an unconvincing revelation, it provides a fuller picture of Jacy, elevating the novel above those that employ the woman-in-peril trope yet neglect to make her a multidimensional character.
