KEY POINTS:
THE MONSTERS OF TEMPLETON
By Lauren Groff
Random House, $36-99
The Monsters of Templeton is Lauren Groff's first novel and what a cracking debut.
Sunshine Wilhelmina Upton, on the verge of finishing her PhD, returns to her home town of Templeton, pregnant to her professor and further disgraced on account of an attempted hit and run aimed at the professor's wife.
On arrival, Willie's past collides with her present and her need to find out the truth of her lineage becomes an obsession. Willie's mother, Violet, has always claimed not to know the identity of Willie's father, saying it could have been any one of three men.
Willie sets off to the local historical society, and begins her journey back in time using letters, diaries, any clue she can lay her hands on, to find the truth of her identity.
Add the discovery of a monster at the bottom of the town's seemingly serene lake to Willie's detective work and the scene is set for a gripping and remarkable read.
