Review: "Intrusion," by Mary McCluskey

Read the article on the eMissourian here

In the novel “Instrusion,” by Mary McCluskey, the main character, Kat, was born and raised in England in a poor household. She was conditioned to treat family as a lifeline: a means of redemption and a place of asylum. Kat’s family ties followed her through her move to America and were re-established in her love for her husband and child. But when Kat’s 17-year-old son, Chris, dies in a car accident, she finds herself floating aimlessly through what remains of her young life.

Her husband, Scott, buries himself in work to cope with the grief. Kat’s sister lives happily in England, her family still intact. It seems to Kat that she is the only one who is still affected by the deep and crushing loss of her son, and she starts to believe that her one true path to happiness is death.

Before she can follow through with her suicide, however, an old childhood friend finds her way back into Kat’s life. Sarah, though widowed and extremely wealthy, was born into a very poor family with an aristocratic background. Sarah had always known she’d been born for greatness, which accounted for her willingness to trod on other peoples’ dreams to achieve her own. This character trait of Sarah’s was what estranged the once inseparable pair in the first place.

The rekindling of friendship between the two women leads to a business deal. As a plea for forgiveness, Sarah offers to help Kat obtain what would best heal her after the loss of her son: another baby. Infatuated with the idea of being a mother again, Kat finds herself growing farther apart from her work-obsessed husband and getting wrapped up in the restricting vines of a once manipulative friendship.

“Intrusion” is a story of overwhelming grief and the destruction it carries, a book certain to surprise. The mood tosses and turns with each chapter, rolling from one side of the emotional spectrum to the other. The deceit and hope Kat experiences leads readers through a compelling story of what it means to live after loss

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