Suddenly Roy is drawn back to a life he had hoped to have left forever. His father is dying, and, since Roy is his only remaining blood relative, he feels obligated to spend the remaining few months of his father’s life with him. Returning to his boyhood home recalls for Roy all the reasons for which he left. The hopelessness of life in a mining town where mining was no longer profitable, the narrow viewpoints of the town’s poorly educated citizens, and a barely civil relationship which he had with his father all contribute to Roy’s malaise.

To his astonishment, Roy learns that his father has a mission he wishes to accomplish before he dies. To his chagrin, this mission necessitates Roy’s help. The elder Slater wants to understand the meaning behind the death of Roy’s younger brother, Archie. The facts of Archie’s death are straightforward. He committed suicide in jail after having been convicted of murdering the parents of his girlfriend. The evidence, albeit circumstantial, supports the belief that Archie did murder the couple, but the elder Slater believes that what actually happened and why was a much more complex scenario. Before he dies, Roy’s father wants Roy to investigate the matter.

Like many of the books Thomas Cook has written, Into the Web traces concurrently two story lines. Unlike some of his other works, this effort is quite easy to follow. The story lines are distinct and, though many of the players are the same in both plots, the older story is told in the third person, whereas the modern tale is told from Roy’s point of view.. The theme of the book is more closely related to relationships than to events but the knowledge about the relationships is only revealed gradually in the story of years ago which heightens the reader’s interest.

Thomas Cook is well known and respected for his meticulous description. It is easy to picture and feel the essence of this small West Virginia town. “Waylord…[in 1960] [was] a remote and mysterious place where there was no electricity, no phones, no radios, nor much of anything else that couldn’t have been found in the same houses a hundred years before.. a primitive place, rocked by bloody feuds and mining wars, peopled by a race of Highland warriors whose fallen progeny now dug out a living from hardscrabble soil, fished, hunted, made their own whiskey, and sometimes their own laws.” His portrayal of Roy’s father as seen through Roy’s eyes is captivating. “The sense of welcomed death curled all around him now, a white mist that seemed to back up from the smoldering center of all gone wrong, the wife he never loved, the son who died, and me.”

Equally intriguing is Cook’s careful development of the relationship between Roy and his father. From the abruptness and rapidity with which Roy left for college, it is evident that his ties to his family and especially his father were tenuous at best. Upon his return, precipitated by a sense of duty, Roy assumes the care of his father. He initially treats it as a burden, but as time progresses, he begins to understand more of the man his father really is. His time away as well as his growth as an individual makes him more compassionate toward the man. It is testimony to Cook’s skill as a writer to experience how this gradual transformation in both men takes place.

Though definitely not the book for those looking for fast paced adventure, Into the Web is a picture perfect study of human relationships and how they change and evolve. All fans of Thomas Cook will rave about this novel, and those whose feeling is lukewarm would do well to give this book a try as well

--Andy Plonka