Book Review Those People Behind Us

This novel captures the complexities of a community of people living in the fictional town of Wellington Beach, CA during the summer of 2017. It was a time when politics, protests, housing market prices, and fear of racism ran rampant causing divisions among the residents in an affluent suburban neighborhood. The story is told from multiple perspectives of five eclectic neighbors, a realtor, an aerobics teacher, an ex-con, a Vietnam vet, and a teenage boy. As their backstories unfold characters are confronted with issues of death, betrayal, financial decline, and loneliness while learning to accept people for who they are. Readers will find author Mary Camarillo's novel a commentary on how a group of people can learn to navigate the challenge of real-life problems but along the way be able to find a connection with one another despite their differences.

Camarillo, a skillful writer, has crafted well-developed characters. I enjoyed the addition of Lisa Kensington, a realtor in the story, and her newsletter for the housing tract. Interspersed within the story are snippets from this newsletter giving the reader subtle opinions and additional pertinent information of events ongoing in the neighborhood. The author excels in eliciting emotional empathy from her readers with the characters' feelings and possible explanations of their actions. Periodically during my reading, I found myself emotionally attached to the characters wondering what will happen next and to their well-being. Camarillo has a good sense of time and place and is able to craft a story that has a sense of realism to keep readers engaged. In the end, you will find yourself imagining what life might look like for each going forward. 

ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MULTI-WINNING MARY CAMARILLO
She is the author of the award-winning novel "The Lockhart Women."

Her awards include the 2022 Willa Literary Award Finalist in Multiform Fiction, the 2021 First Place Award in the Next Generation Indies for First Fiction, the 2022 Finalist for the Screencraft Cinematic Book Award, the 2021 Finalist in the American Book Awards in Women’s Fiction, the 2022 Silver Titan Award, and the 2022 Honorable Mention, Los Angeles Book Award for Regional Fiction and the 2022 Honorable Mention, Hollywood Book Award for Fiction.

Her second novel, "Those People Behind Us" will be published in October of 2023. 

Mary writes about living in Southern California, a place she’s called home for more than fifty-five years and is still trying to understand. She had a long career with the postal service, which might be genetic—both her grandfathers were railway mail clerks. She sorted mail, sold stamps, worked in the accounting office, and went to night school, eventually earning a degree in business administration, a CPA license, and a Certificate in Internal Auditing. She lives in Huntington Beach, California, with her husband, who plays ukulele, and their terrorist cat Riley, who makes frequent appearances on Instagram.

For more information about the author and her books go to 

marycamarillo.com