Subtraction

by Sheila Deeth

Andrew Callaghan suspects his student Amy, who has gone missing, may have been murdered. With the help of Stella DeMaris, the school's new art instructor, he sets off on a road trip to find what happened to her. Tortured by memories of his own dead daughter, Andrew sees Amy's body in every passing shadow, while Stella, ever hopeful, sees cats. But where will the cats lead them, and will Amy be dead or alive at the end of the trail?

298 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2017

About the author

Sheila Deeth is an English American, Catholic Protestant, mathematician writer and editor, author of contemporary novels - Divide by Zero and Infinite Sum from Indigo Sea Press - the Five Minute Bible Story Series from Cape Arago Press, Tails of Mystery from Linkville Press, and several spiritual speculative novellas and short stories.

Sheila is a prolific reader and her book reviews are published on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells, Goodreads, and Librarything, as well as on her blog at http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com

Find out more at http://about.me/sheiladeeth

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mixed-genre "mathemafiction"novel kept me up past midnight to finish and find out how the story ends. I was intrigued with the story, including backstory, of Andrew Callaghan, a math teacher to special education students. He gained my sympathy with the sad incidents that happened to his family before he was twenty, and his unhappy marriage and family life when his and Evie's perfect baby was diagnosed autistic. Andrew felt guilty but understandably his choice was to leave the marriage and home. Later, when his daughter Amelia was raped and murdered, his guilt became stronger. He then became lost, distraught, homeless, and began acting strangely. Somehow he got himself together and became the math teacher we see in the first chapter. When his star pupil, autistic Amy (reminding him of Amelia) mysteriously disappears from the classroom, he is a person of interest and sets out to find her.

The classroom scenes held my interest, but the faculty meetings seem unbelievable. As a former "underdog" substitute teacher, even I can't believe that a principal and faculty would demean and insult a special ed teacher and, least of all, his students. This element of the story did not ring true to me.

Following along with Andrew's story and hoping he regains some self-respect and a happy future, I began to see that ubiquitous cats are appearing everywhere. The same white cat with green eyes and garnet collar? As Andrew and colleague Stella, the art teacher, undertake a cross-country road trip to find Amy (alive or dead,) the white cats increase in number, as do the ghost voices in Andrew's head. Amelia? By that point, the novel has become fantasy or magic realism. And I hung on for the wild ride.

[Donna Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A combination of Peace Like a River and Topper
A powerful, mystical story of renewal and redemption. Life does give us second chances, but sometimes we have to earn them. Friends, effort and a willingness to be open—even to hurt—help a wounded teacher of special needs students find love and healing. Sheila Deeth has a remarkable ability to draw in-depth characters until you feel you know them from every angle. That makes for totally absorbing reading.