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A Brilliant Death
A 2017 EDGAR® AWARD FINALIST! Amanda Baron died in a boating accident on the Ohio River in 1953. Or, did she? While it was generally accepted that she had died when a coal barge rammed the pleasure boat she was sharing with her lover, her body was never found. Travis Baron was an infant when his mother disappeared. After the accident and the subsequent publicity, Travis’s father scoured the house of all evidence that Amanda Baron had ever lived, and her name was never to be uttered around him. Now in high school, Travis yearns to know more about his mother. With the help of his best friend, Mitch Malone, Travis begins a search for the truth about the mother he never knew. The two boys find an unlikely ally: an alcoholic former detective who served time for falsifying evidence. Although his reputation is in tatters, the information the detective provides about the death of Amanda Baron is indisputable—and dangerous. Nearly two decades after her death, Travis and Mitch piece together a puzzle lost to the dark waters of the Ohio River. They know how Amanda Baron died, and why. Now what do they do with the information?
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2016
244 people are currently reading
2629 people want to read
About the author
Robin Yocum
19 books314 followersRobin Yocum is the author of the award-winning, critically acclaimed novel, Favorite Sons (June 2012, Arcade Publishing). Favorite Sons was named the 2011 USA Book News Book of the Year for Mystery/Suspense, and is a Choose to Read Ohio selection for 2013-14. His latest novel, The Essay, was released in October 2012 by Arcade. He also is the author of Dead Before Deadline, a compilation of stories from his days as a crime beat reporter with the Columbus Dispatch, and Insured for Murder, which he co-authored with Dispatch colleague Catherine Candisky. Robin joined the Columbus Dispatch as a reporter in 1980 and worked at the paper for eleven years, spending four years on the crime beat, followed by a post as senior reporter on the investigative desk. He won more than 30 local, state and national awards while at the paper. Yocum has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 380 reviews
May 24, 2019
Authored by Robin Yocum, ‘A Brilliant Death’ is a coming of age novel with a crime mystery plot. Told in the first person voice of Mitch Malone, the heart of the story belongs to Mitch’s friendship with Travis Baron and Travis’s quest to find out what really happened to his mother, Amanda. According to rumors, when Travis is just an infant, Amanda drowns in the waters of the Ohio River after a barge hits the boat she is on with her lover. Her body is never found. Travis’s father, Big Frank Baron, a truck driver, is out of town at the time, therefore managing to escape suspicion.
Travis calls his quest ‘Project Amanda,’ and the places that the project take him and Mitch are sometimes hilarious, occasionally dangerous, and often emotional, as you might expect for a boy who knows next to nothing about his mother. Big Frank is a barely there parent, and when he is there, he deals out fisticuffs and threats. Travis never knows what will set him off. The contrast between Travis’s life and Mitch’s is the best approximation of night and day. Thankfully, Mitch’s parents have taken Travis in, and for Mitch, he is like a brother. The project unfolds against the backdrop of the two boys’ high school years.
What I enjoy most about this story is the intimate and personal voice of Mitch. It immediately pulls me into the story. As well, the accounts of small town life and growing up in the 1970’s with Vietnam as a hovering specter is familiar, as that is part of my background as well. Mitch’s home team was the Brilliant Blue Devils; mine was Gamewell-Collettsville Blue Devils. Reading about their athletic endeavors brought back the pep rallies and cheers we had for our team, which as I remember, probably didn’t fare much better than this hometown team. Regardless, it was a window out of time. Yocum captures so well the intricacies of boyhood friendship, instilling a feeling of the universal nature of such friendships, the feeling of great luck when one finds such a friend.
There are some who don’t like a highly charged, almost climactic event at the beginning of a story, then a flashback to show how things got to this point. Sometimes suspense suffers as a result. I think it’s down to the skill of the author. I frequently do like this kind of blast-off start to a story. My idling engine needs a kick start. This story starts like that. Yocum, however, captures my attention, then he holds it, and stokes the furnace, building suspense as I hope for the best for these two young men.
Travis calls his quest ‘Project Amanda,’ and the places that the project take him and Mitch are sometimes hilarious, occasionally dangerous, and often emotional, as you might expect for a boy who knows next to nothing about his mother. Big Frank is a barely there parent, and when he is there, he deals out fisticuffs and threats. Travis never knows what will set him off. The contrast between Travis’s life and Mitch’s is the best approximation of night and day. Thankfully, Mitch’s parents have taken Travis in, and for Mitch, he is like a brother. The project unfolds against the backdrop of the two boys’ high school years.
What I enjoy most about this story is the intimate and personal voice of Mitch. It immediately pulls me into the story. As well, the accounts of small town life and growing up in the 1970’s with Vietnam as a hovering specter is familiar, as that is part of my background as well. Mitch’s home team was the Brilliant Blue Devils; mine was Gamewell-Collettsville Blue Devils. Reading about their athletic endeavors brought back the pep rallies and cheers we had for our team, which as I remember, probably didn’t fare much better than this hometown team. Regardless, it was a window out of time. Yocum captures so well the intricacies of boyhood friendship, instilling a feeling of the universal nature of such friendships, the feeling of great luck when one finds such a friend.
There are some who don’t like a highly charged, almost climactic event at the beginning of a story, then a flashback to show how things got to this point. Sometimes suspense suffers as a result. I think it’s down to the skill of the author. I frequently do like this kind of blast-off start to a story. My idling engine needs a kick start. This story starts like that. Yocum, however, captures my attention, then he holds it, and stokes the furnace, building suspense as I hope for the best for these two young men.
September 6, 2020
What a satisfying, escapist story that combines a heartwarming, first person, coming of age narrative with a small town mystery. Set in the 1950s through 1980s, this is the tale of two best friends, Mitch Malone and Travis Baron, who initiate the ‘Amanda Project’ their freshman year of high school to investigate the mysterious death of Travis’s mother when he was five months old. Brilliant, Ohio (a real place by the way) is a small village tucked along the Appalachian foothills and the Ohio River. The disappearance of Amanda Baron and her assumed lover in 1953 after a boating accident is the town’s most infamous mystery and scandal. Travis’s father, Big Frank, is a mean, abusive, longhaul truck driver who refuses to discuss his deceased wife with his son. Travis has never even seen a picture of his mother. Mitch is an only child in a loving home whose parents have always included Travis as one of their own. But Travis wants more. What starts as a simple, innocent plan to find photos or mementos of Amanda Baron leads these boys down a tumultuous path over the course of their high school years. As friend Tina notes in her succinct review: “The beauty of this coming of age novel lies in the relationship between the two main characters, Mitch and Travis.” I’ll add that the small town supporting characters and the intertwining of the Amanda mystery into these boys’ lives are pretty darn brilliant. An excellent read and a new author for me to explore.
“It was on this perfect night that I began to realize that . . . the security of my youth and the cocoon that was Brilliant, Ohio, were about to slip into history. When school began, I would start planning for college and Brilliant would become simply the place where I had grown up.”
~ Mitchell “Mitch” Malone
“It was on this perfect night that I began to realize that . . . the security of my youth and the cocoon that was Brilliant, Ohio, were about to slip into history. When school began, I would start planning for college and Brilliant would become simply the place where I had grown up.”
~ Mitchell “Mitch” Malone
August 6, 2019
Brilliant! Simply Brilliant!
In the river town of Brilliant. Nicholas, who was known as Duke, grew up in Mingo Junction. Johnny, who in junior high insisted that he be called Giovanni, even though he was more Polish than Italian, grew up in Steubenville. We were bonded by family blood and the gritty air and muddy waters of the Ohio River Valley. Never in my vivid imagination did I dream we would ultimately have another common bond—murder. Duke and Johnny would see their adult lives knotted like spinning rope, and they have their own tales of intrigue, but not just yet. First, there’s my story. It begins in the summer of 1953, when a river barge crushed a pleasure boat—Lady Luck—on the Ohio River. The disappearance of the boat’s passengers would launch a mystery that would fuel the gossip mill and perplex authorities for decades.
And I am the only one who can tell the entire story.
From the Steubenville, Ohio, Herald-Star, June 7, 1971.
Brilliant Senior Class Salutatorian
Missing After Car Plunges into River
BRILLIANT—Rescue workers from five local fire departments searched the Ohio River today for the body of the Brilliant High School senior class salutatorian believed to have died shortly after midnight Sunday when the car he was driving plunged 110 feet over a cliff and into the murky waters beneath Hunter’s Ridge just north of town.
Authorities identified the man as Travis Franklin Baron, 18, of 138 Nichols Drive, Brilliant.
Baron, who only hours earlier had addressed his fellow seniors at his commencement, was fleeing police when he crashed through a barrier and went over the cliff. A police spokesman said Baron was last seen driving at a high rate of speed on Jefferson County Road 19 near the entrance to Hunter’s Ridge Park.
By the time pursuing police arrived at Hunter’s Ridge, the car was sinking into the Ohio River. There were no witnesses to the accident.
********
A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum is simply brilliant! I loved it!
I always love stories told from young boy's point of view and this book is just that! And More!
The story follows best friends Mitch and Travis through high school. But it's not going through school that's the tough part for them. Mitch has two loving parents and a stable home life while Travis has nothing even close. His father is mostly absent from Travis's life and when he's home he's often abusive. All he knows of his mother is that she drowned in the Ohio River when he was an infant. When he turns fifteen, Travis decides to learn all he can about his mother.
His friend Mitch tells us the story....
And so it begins...
In the river town of Brilliant. Nicholas, who was known as Duke, grew up in Mingo Junction. Johnny, who in junior high insisted that he be called Giovanni, even though he was more Polish than Italian, grew up in Steubenville. We were bonded by family blood and the gritty air and muddy waters of the Ohio River Valley. Never in my vivid imagination did I dream we would ultimately have another common bond—murder. Duke and Johnny would see their adult lives knotted like spinning rope, and they have their own tales of intrigue, but not just yet. First, there’s my story. It begins in the summer of 1953, when a river barge crushed a pleasure boat—Lady Luck—on the Ohio River. The disappearance of the boat’s passengers would launch a mystery that would fuel the gossip mill and perplex authorities for decades.
And I am the only one who can tell the entire story.
From the Steubenville, Ohio, Herald-Star, June 7, 1971.
Brilliant Senior Class Salutatorian
Missing After Car Plunges into River
BRILLIANT—Rescue workers from five local fire departments searched the Ohio River today for the body of the Brilliant High School senior class salutatorian believed to have died shortly after midnight Sunday when the car he was driving plunged 110 feet over a cliff and into the murky waters beneath Hunter’s Ridge just north of town.
Authorities identified the man as Travis Franklin Baron, 18, of 138 Nichols Drive, Brilliant.
Baron, who only hours earlier had addressed his fellow seniors at his commencement, was fleeing police when he crashed through a barrier and went over the cliff. A police spokesman said Baron was last seen driving at a high rate of speed on Jefferson County Road 19 near the entrance to Hunter’s Ridge Park.
By the time pursuing police arrived at Hunter’s Ridge, the car was sinking into the Ohio River. There were no witnesses to the accident.
********
A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum is simply brilliant! I loved it!
I always love stories told from young boy's point of view and this book is just that! And More!
The story follows best friends Mitch and Travis through high school. But it's not going through school that's the tough part for them. Mitch has two loving parents and a stable home life while Travis has nothing even close. His father is mostly absent from Travis's life and when he's home he's often abusive. All he knows of his mother is that she drowned in the Ohio River when he was an infant. When he turns fifteen, Travis decides to learn all he can about his mother.
His friend Mitch tells us the story....
And so it begins...
September 19, 2020
A brilliant an cleverly crafted mystery. Fast paced with vivid characters and a home town atmosphere.
September 12, 2020
Enjoyable, one-sitting read. Ending was a pleasant surprise.
Will be trying another tale by Mr Yocum. (Very soon quit that book. Won't try others.)
Thanks to Goodreaders for recommending the Edgar class story.
Was intrigued to see that some readers tagged it 'young adult.' Wonder how many young adults will be reading about the high school student protagonists.
Will be trying another tale by Mr Yocum. (Very soon quit that book. Won't try others.)
Thanks to Goodreaders for recommending the Edgar class story.
Was intrigued to see that some readers tagged it 'young adult.' Wonder how many young adults will be reading about the high school student protagonists.
January 31, 2020
3.75 rounded up.
I listened to this as an audio book on a road trip, choosing it based on thinking my husband might also be interested (we don't tend to read the same books, so finding one we can share is a challenge). It held my interest pretty well.
I enjoyed the characters, especially the dynamics between the two friends at the center of the story. They reminded me of Doogie Houser and Vinny in their personalities and interactions, which captured the playful/serious juxtaposition often found between best friends. They seemed real and likeable.
The story follows the unraveling of a mystery--what happened to Travis' mother? Was her death an accident, suicide, or murder, or was it all faked and she's alive somewhere? We trail behind these two rascals as they unearth suspicions and information, leading to an interesting (although not particularly surprising) conclusion. Even though I was not surprised at how things evolved, it was still a pleasant and entertaining ride.
It was a feel-good story overall, with an interesting enough plot, and perfect for a road trip to make the time go more quickly. Despite being a topic that will hurt your heart a bit, the writing kept things light and added some humor, making it less dark.
I listened to this as an audio book on a road trip, choosing it based on thinking my husband might also be interested (we don't tend to read the same books, so finding one we can share is a challenge). It held my interest pretty well.
I enjoyed the characters, especially the dynamics between the two friends at the center of the story. They reminded me of Doogie Houser and Vinny in their personalities and interactions, which captured the playful/serious juxtaposition often found between best friends. They seemed real and likeable.
The story follows the unraveling of a mystery--what happened to Travis' mother? Was her death an accident, suicide, or murder, or was it all faked and she's alive somewhere? We trail behind these two rascals as they unearth suspicions and information, leading to an interesting (although not particularly surprising) conclusion. Even though I was not surprised at how things evolved, it was still a pleasant and entertaining ride.
It was a feel-good story overall, with an interesting enough plot, and perfect for a road trip to make the time go more quickly. Despite being a topic that will hurt your heart a bit, the writing kept things light and added some humor, making it less dark.
September 23, 2019
So much more to the story than what’s written in the description! Above everything this is a story of friendship. It’s hard not to fall in love with the main characters Mitch and Travis! The story itself is beautifully told and makes you want to keep reading! I randomly picked this book up via BookBub and am SO HAPPY I did! I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone! Such a clever and easily flowed story- what’s not to love?!?
August 8, 2016
This is the story of two friends in the small town of Brilliant, Ohio. The narrator (Mitch) is from a typical Midwestern family, and the other is the son of an abusive father (Travis). As the boys move from childhood to adolescence, Travis begins to search for clues about his mother. His father, a long-haul trucker, refuses to talk about her, and rumors around town suggest that Amanda died as a young woman in a boating accident on the Ohio River.
Local gossip has it that Amanda and her lover -- an unidentified man -- were on the father's boat, while he was out of town working. The boat collided with a coal barge, the two jumped overboard, and Amanda was never seen again, nor was her body ever found in the river.
As Travis, aided by his best friend Mitch, begin the search for the truth, all that he thought he knew slowly begins to unravel. Their surreptitious delve into the facts of the case lead them to a convicted felon, the former detective on the case. Piece by piece this fascinating coming-of-age story of the two young boys weaves around the murder, taking them deeper and deeper into the hair-raising facts of the case.
As the story builds from the opening scene near the end of the story and circles back, readers begin to see the character parallels between Travis and his mom. Did Amanda fake her death, or was she really killed? What causes Travis to lose his grip in the opening scene? How will it all end, and, of course, what really happened to Amanda? There are plenty of clues to keep readers going until the end in this beautifully written coming-of-age tale by former crime investigative reporter Robin Yocum.
Review first appeared on ReviewingtheEvidence.com.
Local gossip has it that Amanda and her lover -- an unidentified man -- were on the father's boat, while he was out of town working. The boat collided with a coal barge, the two jumped overboard, and Amanda was never seen again, nor was her body ever found in the river.
As Travis, aided by his best friend Mitch, begin the search for the truth, all that he thought he knew slowly begins to unravel. Their surreptitious delve into the facts of the case lead them to a convicted felon, the former detective on the case. Piece by piece this fascinating coming-of-age story of the two young boys weaves around the murder, taking them deeper and deeper into the hair-raising facts of the case.
As the story builds from the opening scene near the end of the story and circles back, readers begin to see the character parallels between Travis and his mom. Did Amanda fake her death, or was she really killed? What causes Travis to lose his grip in the opening scene? How will it all end, and, of course, what really happened to Amanda? There are plenty of clues to keep readers going until the end in this beautifully written coming-of-age tale by former crime investigative reporter Robin Yocum.
Review first appeared on ReviewingtheEvidence.com.
May 6, 2016
This is a clever and thoroughly enjoyable novel set in smalltown Ohio in the 1950s.
To me it qualifies as great American fiction, and more than once I found myself comparing Yocum's coming of age tale to John Irving (specifically Owen Meaney) and Robert McGammon (Boy's Life).
Sport figures prominently as Mitch supports his best friend Travis in looking for clues as the death of his mother. There is the supposed innocence of stereotypical adolescent suburban life interrupted as the boys team up and challenge unpleasant and abusive adults.
There is a strong ending also, and that feature of other strong American coming of age classics (Stand By Me), a final few pages explaining where all the characters are now.
To me it qualifies as great American fiction, and more than once I found myself comparing Yocum's coming of age tale to John Irving (specifically Owen Meaney) and Robert McGammon (Boy's Life).
Sport figures prominently as Mitch supports his best friend Travis in looking for clues as the death of his mother. There is the supposed innocence of stereotypical adolescent suburban life interrupted as the boys team up and challenge unpleasant and abusive adults.
There is a strong ending also, and that feature of other strong American coming of age classics (Stand By Me), a final few pages explaining where all the characters are now.
June 24, 2016
There is so much good to be discovered in this novel that I hardly know where to begin. I'm kind of compelled to say that A Brilliant Death is, well, close to brilliant, never mind the fact that Brilliant is the name of the town in which the story takes place.
Friendships between boys are not featured anywhere nearly as frequently as those between girls. That's no doubt at least partly because there's so much drama in girl friendships while the guys just sort of seem to hang together without a lot of hoopla...until, of course, a girl comes between them. Anyway, the friendship depicted here between Travis and Mitch is a terrific story all on its own. I really appreciate the way these two boys are truly there for each other, especially in Mitch's understanding of how awful Travis's life is and how much he wants to help. It's not one-sided, though, as Travis also cares very much for Mitch.
I also thought Mr. Yocum had a terrific idea in making Mitch the protagonist rather than Travis, the one who is driven to find answers to the mystery of his mother's death. There are other mysteries, too, such as why was Big Frank such a loathsome individual? Why did women keep marrying this awful excuse for a human being? Did Travis die on graduation night and, if so, why? Would Brilliant survive once the steel mills began to close?
And thus Mitch's tale of what happened in Brilliant, Ohio, begins in the summer of 1953.
I do have to mention one oddity that bothered me a bit. At times, there are two speakers in the same paragraph and I really don't know if this was a failure of formatting in the pre-publication electronic galley I read or if it also happens in the final electronic and/or print editions. It happened enough that I noticed it but it certainly didn't hamper me from having a most enjoyable read. Robin Yocum is a fine writer and I can't recommend A Brilliant Death highly enough.
Friendships between boys are not featured anywhere nearly as frequently as those between girls. That's no doubt at least partly because there's so much drama in girl friendships while the guys just sort of seem to hang together without a lot of hoopla...until, of course, a girl comes between them. Anyway, the friendship depicted here between Travis and Mitch is a terrific story all on its own. I really appreciate the way these two boys are truly there for each other, especially in Mitch's understanding of how awful Travis's life is and how much he wants to help. It's not one-sided, though, as Travis also cares very much for Mitch.
I also thought Mr. Yocum had a terrific idea in making Mitch the protagonist rather than Travis, the one who is driven to find answers to the mystery of his mother's death. There are other mysteries, too, such as why was Big Frank such a loathsome individual? Why did women keep marrying this awful excuse for a human being? Did Travis die on graduation night and, if so, why? Would Brilliant survive once the steel mills began to close?
And thus Mitch's tale of what happened in Brilliant, Ohio, begins in the summer of 1953.
I do have to mention one oddity that bothered me a bit. At times, there are two speakers in the same paragraph and I really don't know if this was a failure of formatting in the pre-publication electronic galley I read or if it also happens in the final electronic and/or print editions. It happened enough that I noticed it but it certainly didn't hamper me from having a most enjoyable read. Robin Yocum is a fine writer and I can't recommend A Brilliant Death highly enough.
February 26, 2016
I won this book through Goodreads first reads. A coming of age story. Two teenage boys, teamed together to solve a mystery and find the truth. What they found out they had to leave it alone. Truth is what they held on to.
The story was very well written. It was definitely a page turner.
The story was very well written. It was definitely a page turner.
July 4, 2020
The beauty of this coming of age novel lies in the relationship between the two main characters, Mitch and Travis. Set in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, A Brilliant Death is told in first person by Mitch with sincerity and a dash of humor. Travis and Mitch spend years of their youth trying to solve the mystery of Travis’ mom’s death before a stunning ending after high school graduation.
A perfect read for your summer vacation or COVID staycation.
A perfect read for your summer vacation or COVID staycation.
September 6, 2022
Initially, I was uncertain if this book was bad solely because the audiobook narrator was stilted in his delivery. Soon, though, it was clear that not only was the narration terrible but the writing was equally terrible.
What A Brilliant Death needed was a shrewd editor to cut through the fluff and find the heart of the story; to strip away all the artifice and the window-dressing and excise the mystery. Because that's what matters in a mystery: the puzzle, the central conundrum.
Yocum began his career as a reporter, and I imagine he was skilled at constructing a newspaper story. They're generally short and sweet and to the point. But as a fiction writer, he is needlessly concerned with details that don't matter. It feels like he's padding out a weak plot. Nearly every character, important or unimportant, has been given a background story. Characters are introduced, their histories trotted out in detail that has zero impact on the arc of the story. Meals are described, clothing is described, geographic details are described - none of which contribute anything more than the filling of pages.
The framing of the mystery doesn't work. Mitchell narrates in first person, but he's telling the story nearly 25 years after the events. The central mystery doesn't even involve him. It involves his best friend, Travis. And because the mystery doesn't involve Mitchell, there's this odd removal from the action. He's reporting the events, not really living them. Because this hogties the narrative, oftentimes events repeat (sometimes word-for-word, like when Frank tracks down Mitchell after Travis' funeral, an event that is recounted at the beginning of the book and then at the end for no discernible reason) or are delivered to the reader via hearsay. Mitchell often says things like, "I later heard..." or "Later, I learned..." or "Margaret told me that..." and then recounts the events in excessive detail. Pal, that's one hell of a recitation of second hand information. This removes the reader so thoroughly from the action sequences that it defangs the immediacy.
First person only works when the plot of the book revolves around the narrator, not a different character. Perhaps this is why Yocum occasionally forgets and slips into jarring narrative choices. In one sequence, Mitchell drops off Travis to reunite with long-lost family (whom Travis has been told were dead). Suddenly, the reunion, dialogue and all, is rendered in great detail. Mitchell is not at the reunion. He is in the car. He cannot possibly see, hear, or know what's going on. This happens again during the book's climax, when suddenly Mitchell seems to know exactly what's going on during the car chase. First person omniscient is a very rare literary device and works in extremely specific circumstances (such as the dead girl in The Lovely Bones or Death himself in The Book Thief - seeing a theme?) but it doesn't work at all when the narrator is alive and well. In fact, it just sounds insane.
Characterization is bizarre, too. Mitchell, the main character, has an Adam's apple that "wiggles" whenever he's lying. Nearly every townsperson seems to know it and they bring it up constantly. "Mitchell, your Adam's apple is wiggling. Did you know that means you're lying?" "Uh oh! There goes that Adam's apple! It's a sure sign that you're lying. Did you know that?". Oh my gosh, it's exhausting. This kind of small-town minutia is idiotic, and in the case of Mitchell's Adam's apple, it obviates one of the ending's "twists" (a word here that I will use very loosely). If Mitchell has such an obvious tell, then how on earth would he be able to get away with ?
It's just one of the many inconsistencies in the story. The one that drove me most nuts, though, was that for the first half of the book, Travis and Mitchell refer to their reconnaissance as "Operation Amanda". Then for about 50 pages, it's "Project Amanda" before returning to "Operation Amanda" by the book's end.
Hire an editor. Please.
Also, this is the most Ohio-y book I've ever read. We actually started laughing at the absurdity of how many times Ohio was used as a descriptor or as a reminder of place. It was borderline parody. To say nothing of the fact that every time the narrator said "Steubenville" it sounds like "Stupidville", which also had us howling.
What A Brilliant Death needed was a shrewd editor to cut through the fluff and find the heart of the story; to strip away all the artifice and the window-dressing and excise the mystery. Because that's what matters in a mystery: the puzzle, the central conundrum.
Yocum began his career as a reporter, and I imagine he was skilled at constructing a newspaper story. They're generally short and sweet and to the point. But as a fiction writer, he is needlessly concerned with details that don't matter. It feels like he's padding out a weak plot. Nearly every character, important or unimportant, has been given a background story. Characters are introduced, their histories trotted out in detail that has zero impact on the arc of the story. Meals are described, clothing is described, geographic details are described - none of which contribute anything more than the filling of pages.
The framing of the mystery doesn't work. Mitchell narrates in first person, but he's telling the story nearly 25 years after the events. The central mystery doesn't even involve him. It involves his best friend, Travis. And because the mystery doesn't involve Mitchell, there's this odd removal from the action. He's reporting the events, not really living them. Because this hogties the narrative, oftentimes events repeat (sometimes word-for-word, like when Frank tracks down Mitchell after Travis' funeral, an event that is recounted at the beginning of the book and then at the end for no discernible reason) or are delivered to the reader via hearsay. Mitchell often says things like, "I later heard..." or "Later, I learned..." or "Margaret told me that..." and then recounts the events in excessive detail. Pal, that's one hell of a recitation of second hand information. This removes the reader so thoroughly from the action sequences that it defangs the immediacy.
First person only works when the plot of the book revolves around the narrator, not a different character. Perhaps this is why Yocum occasionally forgets and slips into jarring narrative choices. In one sequence, Mitchell drops off Travis to reunite with long-lost family (whom Travis has been told were dead). Suddenly, the reunion, dialogue and all, is rendered in great detail. Mitchell is not at the reunion. He is in the car. He cannot possibly see, hear, or know what's going on. This happens again during the book's climax, when suddenly Mitchell seems to know exactly what's going on during the car chase. First person omniscient is a very rare literary device and works in extremely specific circumstances (such as the dead girl in The Lovely Bones or Death himself in The Book Thief - seeing a theme?) but it doesn't work at all when the narrator is alive and well. In fact, it just sounds insane.
Characterization is bizarre, too. Mitchell, the main character, has an Adam's apple that "wiggles" whenever he's lying. Nearly every townsperson seems to know it and they bring it up constantly. "Mitchell, your Adam's apple is wiggling. Did you know that means you're lying?" "Uh oh! There goes that Adam's apple! It's a sure sign that you're lying. Did you know that?". Oh my gosh, it's exhausting. This kind of small-town minutia is idiotic, and in the case of Mitchell's Adam's apple, it obviates one of the ending's "twists" (a word here that I will use very loosely). If Mitchell has such an obvious tell, then how on earth would he be able to get away with ?
It's just one of the many inconsistencies in the story. The one that drove me most nuts, though, was that for the first half of the book, Travis and Mitchell refer to their reconnaissance as "Operation Amanda". Then for about 50 pages, it's "Project Amanda" before returning to "Operation Amanda" by the book's end.
Hire an editor. Please.
Also, this is the most Ohio-y book I've ever read. We actually started laughing at the absurdity of how many times Ohio was used as a descriptor or as a reminder of place. It was borderline parody. To say nothing of the fact that every time the narrator said "Steubenville" it sounds like "Stupidville", which also had us howling.
March 25, 2016
From the publisher: Amanda Baron died in a boating accident on the Ohio River in 1953. Or, did she? While it was generally accepted that she had died when a coal barge rammed the pleasure boat she was sharing with her lover, her body was never found. Travis Baron was an infant when his mother disappeared. After the accident and the subsequent publicity, Travis’ father scoured the house of all evidence that Amanda Baron had ever lived, and her name was never to be uttered around him. Now in high school, Travis yearns to know more about his mother. With the help of his best friend, Mitch Malone, Travis begins a search for the truth about the mother he never knew. The two boys find an unlikely ally: an alcoholic former detective who served time for falsifying evidence. Although his reputation is in tatters, the information the detective provides about the death of Amanda Baron is indisputable - - and dangerous. Nearly two decades after her death, Travis and Mitch piece together a puzzle lost to the dark waters of the Ohio River. They know how Amanda Baron died, and why. Now what do they do with the information?
The writing is terrific. Mitch Malone, the protagonist, in the book’s Prologue talks about his maternal grandfather, who died at 42. The local doctor said it was from a massive heart attack, but “my father said that anyone who knew my grandfather realized he died of acute estrogen exposure.” The family had settled in the coal mining community west of the Ohio River Valley. He had a wife and nine daughters, including a set of triplets. Mitch relates the story, which begins in the summer of 1953 in the town of Brilliant, Ohio (from whence comes the title) and continues, for the most part, through June of 1971. His best friend, Travis, was the only child of Francis “Big Frank” Baron, a violent man, abusive, physically and emotionally, to his son, and his wife, Amanda, whose death starts the tale.
Big Frank was “an old man whose best days had been lost to time and alcohol . . . big, mean, paranoid, hateful . . . who sleeps with a .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol on his nightstand.” But beyond this singular character, the novel is peopled with a wide variety of colorful folks with colorful names, e.g., “Turkeyman” Melman, “a muttering, squatty little man in constant need of a shave and a bath.” Then there is the sheriff, Beaumont T. Bonecutter.
The fascinating plot is one whose outcome the reader, or this one at least, could never have guessed. The only problem I had with the book was the author’s predilection for describing the topography and geography in minute detail, to the extent that I found myself skimming through several paragraphs at a time when this became a bit much. Other than that, the fascinating plot is one whose outcome the reader, or this one at least, could never have guessed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I had the author’s debut novel, “Favorite Sons,” and this one as well is recommended.
The writing is terrific. Mitch Malone, the protagonist, in the book’s Prologue talks about his maternal grandfather, who died at 42. The local doctor said it was from a massive heart attack, but “my father said that anyone who knew my grandfather realized he died of acute estrogen exposure.” The family had settled in the coal mining community west of the Ohio River Valley. He had a wife and nine daughters, including a set of triplets. Mitch relates the story, which begins in the summer of 1953 in the town of Brilliant, Ohio (from whence comes the title) and continues, for the most part, through June of 1971. His best friend, Travis, was the only child of Francis “Big Frank” Baron, a violent man, abusive, physically and emotionally, to his son, and his wife, Amanda, whose death starts the tale.
Big Frank was “an old man whose best days had been lost to time and alcohol . . . big, mean, paranoid, hateful . . . who sleeps with a .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol on his nightstand.” But beyond this singular character, the novel is peopled with a wide variety of colorful folks with colorful names, e.g., “Turkeyman” Melman, “a muttering, squatty little man in constant need of a shave and a bath.” Then there is the sheriff, Beaumont T. Bonecutter.
The fascinating plot is one whose outcome the reader, or this one at least, could never have guessed. The only problem I had with the book was the author’s predilection for describing the topography and geography in minute detail, to the extent that I found myself skimming through several paragraphs at a time when this became a bit much. Other than that, the fascinating plot is one whose outcome the reader, or this one at least, could never have guessed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I had the author’s debut novel, “Favorite Sons,” and this one as well is recommended.
October 30, 2022
I'm not usually a fan of male bonding/coming of age stories but I picked this up anyway because it was set near my hometown around the time I grew up. I wasn't expecting anything more than a trip down memory lane, following teenaged Mitchell as he helped his high school bud Travis unravel the story behind his mom's apparent drowning. Well, I got that plus much, much more - I don't want to risk a spoiler but WOW! what a surprise there at the end. And I just loved the play on words in the title.
February 23, 2017
liked it okay. I finished it which says something for now days. I've become very picky. Loved the character development
May 4, 2018
I loved this book. It was an honest and touching coming of age story set in a small Ohio town.
August 20, 2018
I really loved the author's book, "The Essay," so looked forward to reading this one. I found it to be a quite enjoyable read, although perhaps not quite as well-written as "The Essay," and would recommend it to someone looking for a novel that reads easily and doesn't need to be "literary."
Mr. Yocum's two main characters are teenaged boys growing up in the 1960s in Brilliant, Ohio, which just happens to be the author's home town. Brilliant is a small burg on the bank of the Ohio River, close to the steel mills and coal mines of the region near Steubenville, Ohio; Wheeling, West Virginia; and eastern Pennsylvania. The narrator, Mitch Malone, finds himself entangled in the mystery of his best friend's mother's death. What really happened to Amanda Baron? Is it true that she was killed while on a rendezvous with her lover? No one wants to know more than Amanda's son, Travis, who was an infant when his mother drowned. Or did she actually drown, as reported? Travis begins "Operation Amanda" to find out all he can about the mother he never knew, and he needs Mitch's help. The project takes them far beyond what they had expected when they first opened their search for information.
Mr. Yocum writes teenaged boys quite well. They seem authentic and alive, although some of the supporting characters are a little cliched (especially Frank Baron, Travis's abusive father). The setting is well developed, portraying small-town, blue-collar life respectfully and honestly. I could envision the town and get a feel for its character almost immediately, and I really wanted Travis and Mitch to be successful in their search.
They are successful, and there's an interesting and unexpected twist at the end. But a hint to what exactly happened to Amanda Baron is immediately apparent as such to any reader with experience in reading mysteries -- and that disappointed me. I'm glad it didn't come until the last third of the book, because if it had, I wouldn't have been so willing to ride along with the remaining chapters to see if, indeed, I was right.
Mr. Yocum writes with a pleasant style and sense of humor and provides a fun read. His books are definitely worth a try. I'll be reading more of them.
Mr. Yocum's two main characters are teenaged boys growing up in the 1960s in Brilliant, Ohio, which just happens to be the author's home town. Brilliant is a small burg on the bank of the Ohio River, close to the steel mills and coal mines of the region near Steubenville, Ohio; Wheeling, West Virginia; and eastern Pennsylvania. The narrator, Mitch Malone, finds himself entangled in the mystery of his best friend's mother's death. What really happened to Amanda Baron? Is it true that she was killed while on a rendezvous with her lover? No one wants to know more than Amanda's son, Travis, who was an infant when his mother drowned. Or did she actually drown, as reported? Travis begins "Operation Amanda" to find out all he can about the mother he never knew, and he needs Mitch's help. The project takes them far beyond what they had expected when they first opened their search for information.
Mr. Yocum writes teenaged boys quite well. They seem authentic and alive, although some of the supporting characters are a little cliched (especially Frank Baron, Travis's abusive father). The setting is well developed, portraying small-town, blue-collar life respectfully and honestly. I could envision the town and get a feel for its character almost immediately, and I really wanted Travis and Mitch to be successful in their search.
They are successful, and there's an interesting and unexpected twist at the end. But a hint to what exactly happened to Amanda Baron is immediately apparent as such to any reader with experience in reading mysteries -- and that disappointed me. I'm glad it didn't come until the last third of the book, because if it had, I wouldn't have been so willing to ride along with the remaining chapters to see if, indeed, I was right.
Mr. Yocum writes with a pleasant style and sense of humor and provides a fun read. His books are definitely worth a try. I'll be reading more of them.
February 27, 2025
I actually loved this book more than I thought I would!
I loved that it opened with Travis' death, and from there we went back in time leading up to his death. It was a tad bit slow at first, but once they started investigating his mother's death, I was hooked. I suspected the father from the get, but never that she wasn't actually on the boat, and certainly not the ending.
When Travis reconnects with lost family, I am THRILLED. But then I remember the beginning of the book and I am so sad I had to put the book down. This boy finally was starting to live the life he deserved and it was all going to be taken away from him. When he graduates, drives drunk, and ends up in the river, I am devastated. I just wanted one thing to work out for him.
A book that pulls this type of emotion out of me is an easy 4 stars. I loved it. :)
I loved that it opened with Travis' death, and from there we went back in time leading up to his death. It was a tad bit slow at first, but once they started investigating his mother's death, I was hooked. I suspected the father from the get, but never that she wasn't actually on the boat, and certainly not the ending.
When Travis reconnects with lost family, I am THRILLED. But then I remember the beginning of the book and I am so sad I had to put the book down. This boy finally was starting to live the life he deserved and it was all going to be taken away from him. When he graduates, drives drunk, and ends up in the river, I am devastated. I just wanted one thing to work out for him.
A book that pulls this type of emotion out of me is an easy 4 stars. I loved it. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2024
A certain member of my book club loves to choose books that will rip your heart out and tear it to shreds. And maybe…if you’re lucky, it will put the pieces back together again. To quote that lovely gentleman on TikTok, “spectacular, give me fourteen of them right now”
Seriously. Read this.
Seriously. Read this.
July 25, 2024
The perfect book to get me out of the slump of a string of mediocre reads. This story was fantastic, and unputdownable!
August 6, 2022
I loved this book!
November 6, 2022
Phew! What a story! Small town Ohio from 1950’s to the 1970’s. The young men in this story will surprise and impress you. They are coming of age while also trying to figure out the town’s biggest mystery that happens to be about the death of one of their mother’s. The dad and widower is one of the meanest men that have been written. Horrible person. I loved the cold case aspect with a personal touch.
February 7, 2025
It was low-key annoying, the mystery wasn't super thrilling, and the twist at the ending didn't pack as much of a punch as it should've. Maybe I should stop reading books with high school boys as the main characters because if I met any of these characters in real life I would probably want to slap them upside the head.
May 26, 2017
I like books with an Appalachian setting. Nice boys coming of age story with a mystery. I didn't see the end coming. I enjoyed it.
October 17, 2020
One of the great failings of the crime fiction community is that it too often equates a book's marketing budget with its literary worth; that it confuses the size of its publisher with the sum of a book's merit. A case in point is a A BRILLIANT DEATH, which I never heard of until long after it came out, because it had neither a big publisher with social-media savvy nor a robust marketing campaign.
Yet, it is one of the best crime novels of its time, or of any time.
A BRILLIANT DEATH is the first of a trilogy of novels, each telling the story of three cousins raised in neighboring towns in the Upper Ohio River Valley. The stories are as rich in sweep as they are in setting: they take in every decade from the 1950s to the present, they encompass the teen years as well as the middle-aged ones, they deal with characters that are desperate, whether they're destitute or drowning in material riches.
This story centers on the late 1960s and early 1970s; it is the story of Mitch Malone and his best friend Travis Baron, and his attempt to find out what happened to his mother, who died shortly after Travis was born in circumstances that point to suicide, murder or an accident, depending on one's biases, one's sources of information, and one's emotional connection to the people involved. The pursuit is dogged; the revelations believable and well-earned; the stakes satisfyingly and horribly high. It is a top-tier entry in my favorite unofficial subgenre: Non-YA Books About Teens. Mitch's first-person voice benefits from being bereft of the shrieky echo-chamber-of-the-teenage-brain voice that permeates YA. He tells his story, he adds his sensibilities as he goes, and he remembers that there is a world outside his head. As a result, the pages turn, but they don't fly by; the pleasures of A BRILLIANT DEATH lie in its details more than its plot reveals.
I mentioned setting; Robin Yocum was raised in the real Brilliant, Ohio, where the story is set, and you can smell the slag and sulfur of the steel mills and the coal trains; you can breathe in the fetid stink of the river floodplains; you can see and hear the Bruce Springsteen desperation in every beer-tinged teenage gallivant. In the hands of Yocum, a career journalist, Brilliant is the sort of place that sounds awful, and the sort of place, like the down-and-almost-out working-class towns of western Maine in the early books and stories of Stephen King, I can't wait to visit.
It's hard to describe the merits of A BRILLIANT DEATH, given its lack of showy prose. It's just a story that carries a lot of weight on deceptively light feet; it is about people you know; it is about sweetly uncomfortable probings into the dusty darkness of our teenage hearts, bringing to light things we wish we could forget and yet are glad we can remember.
It's just a great novel. And a perfect springboard into the trilogy's next murder: A WELCOME MURDER and A PERFECT SHOT. I'm grateful to have stumbled across A BRILLIANT DEATH, but it was quite by chance; the real crime of the book is that it was so hard to find in a trash-strewn sea of twisty thrillers clotted with surface pleasures. A BRILLIANT DEATH is more, and better.
Yet, it is one of the best crime novels of its time, or of any time.
A BRILLIANT DEATH is the first of a trilogy of novels, each telling the story of three cousins raised in neighboring towns in the Upper Ohio River Valley. The stories are as rich in sweep as they are in setting: they take in every decade from the 1950s to the present, they encompass the teen years as well as the middle-aged ones, they deal with characters that are desperate, whether they're destitute or drowning in material riches.
This story centers on the late 1960s and early 1970s; it is the story of Mitch Malone and his best friend Travis Baron, and his attempt to find out what happened to his mother, who died shortly after Travis was born in circumstances that point to suicide, murder or an accident, depending on one's biases, one's sources of information, and one's emotional connection to the people involved. The pursuit is dogged; the revelations believable and well-earned; the stakes satisfyingly and horribly high. It is a top-tier entry in my favorite unofficial subgenre: Non-YA Books About Teens. Mitch's first-person voice benefits from being bereft of the shrieky echo-chamber-of-the-teenage-brain voice that permeates YA. He tells his story, he adds his sensibilities as he goes, and he remembers that there is a world outside his head. As a result, the pages turn, but they don't fly by; the pleasures of A BRILLIANT DEATH lie in its details more than its plot reveals.
I mentioned setting; Robin Yocum was raised in the real Brilliant, Ohio, where the story is set, and you can smell the slag and sulfur of the steel mills and the coal trains; you can breathe in the fetid stink of the river floodplains; you can see and hear the Bruce Springsteen desperation in every beer-tinged teenage gallivant. In the hands of Yocum, a career journalist, Brilliant is the sort of place that sounds awful, and the sort of place, like the down-and-almost-out working-class towns of western Maine in the early books and stories of Stephen King, I can't wait to visit.
It's hard to describe the merits of A BRILLIANT DEATH, given its lack of showy prose. It's just a story that carries a lot of weight on deceptively light feet; it is about people you know; it is about sweetly uncomfortable probings into the dusty darkness of our teenage hearts, bringing to light things we wish we could forget and yet are glad we can remember.
It's just a great novel. And a perfect springboard into the trilogy's next murder: A WELCOME MURDER and A PERFECT SHOT. I'm grateful to have stumbled across A BRILLIANT DEATH, but it was quite by chance; the real crime of the book is that it was so hard to find in a trash-strewn sea of twisty thrillers clotted with surface pleasures. A BRILLIANT DEATH is more, and better.
January 3, 2016
I'm sorry to say this novel did not work for me. I can see it becoming quite popular and many people loving it, though; it's a cozy mystery in a small town surrounded by the usual bad guys trying to intimidate people not to spread their secrets. The coming of age part was endearing and the friendship between the boys was very well written, but the mystery plot, in my opinion, was not. There were too many things that didn't add up and I wasn't convinced. Besides, I couldn't really see how the plans would work in real life; I don't think they would. Maybe it's just my fault for being too demanding.
I was just curious about one thing while reading this book...I had never seen "shook their head" used as agreement as it is in this book; to me it means "no", right? Is it a local thing for the area?
I received a complimentary copy via Edelweiss by the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity, that did not affect my opinion in any way.
I was just curious about one thing while reading this book...I had never seen "shook their head" used as agreement as it is in this book; to me it means "no", right? Is it a local thing for the area?
I received a complimentary copy via Edelweiss by the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity, that did not affect my opinion in any way.
October 6, 2016
During their high school years, two teenage boys try to uncover the truth about the death of one boy's mother when he was an infant.
Obstacles include the cruelty of the motherless boy's father, the lack of technology to aid in this search set in the late 1960s and early 70s, and the reluctance of adults to reveal information about the woman.
The mystery also serves as a coming-of-age story, and a male bonding tale. The plot and well-developed characters would appeal to both teen and adult readers.
One annoying aspect: Occasionally, the teens' dialog is unrealistic.
Between eighth and ninth grades, the boys discover the cruel father's stash of porn magazines. One says, "Big Frank has quite an extensive library." The other responds, "Yeah, he's a connoisseur of fine literature." Really?
Obstacles include the cruelty of the motherless boy's father, the lack of technology to aid in this search set in the late 1960s and early 70s, and the reluctance of adults to reveal information about the woman.
The mystery also serves as a coming-of-age story, and a male bonding tale. The plot and well-developed characters would appeal to both teen and adult readers.
One annoying aspect: Occasionally, the teens' dialog is unrealistic.
Between eighth and ninth grades, the boys discover the cruel father's stash of porn magazines. One says, "Big Frank has quite an extensive library." The other responds, "Yeah, he's a connoisseur of fine literature." Really?
May 9, 2016
Once again, Robin Yocum gives us a great coming-of-age tale.
Travis Baron and Mitch Malone are best friends from the (real town!) of Brilliant, Ohio. Travis has a hard life as the only son of a notoriously evil man. Mitch leads a stable life in a loving family. By the time they are seniors in high school, Travis wants to know more about his mother who drowned 15 years before - but her body was never found. Once the boys get started, they find out more than they bargained for and danger is closing in.
Yocum really shines when he's writing about southern Ohio - you can almost feel the sun and smell the smells. A great mystery with a twist at the end, with an epilogue that will leave you feeling good for a long time.
Travis Baron and Mitch Malone are best friends from the (real town!) of Brilliant, Ohio. Travis has a hard life as the only son of a notoriously evil man. Mitch leads a stable life in a loving family. By the time they are seniors in high school, Travis wants to know more about his mother who drowned 15 years before - but her body was never found. Once the boys get started, they find out more than they bargained for and danger is closing in.
Yocum really shines when he's writing about southern Ohio - you can almost feel the sun and smell the smells. A great mystery with a twist at the end, with an epilogue that will leave you feeling good for a long time.
May 24, 2019
I have read The Essay, Favorite Sons and now A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum and loved them all. This book is about friendship, trust, and succeeding in spite of a disadvantaged upbringing with an abusive father. I feel I really get to know teenagers Travis and Mitch. The dialogue between these two main characters is believable. A coming of age story as well as a mystery. The story flows well, and is hard to put down.
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