REVIEW: Walt by Russell Wangersky

Walt by Russell Wangersky, 304 pages

Great little suspense mystery!

I first read Wangersky's short story collection, Whirl Away, and quite enjoyed it. Rereading my review makes me almost want to read it again. I also followed the link and reread Buried in Print's review, which is up to her very high standards. We are both Wangersky fans after the first book. Then, lo and behold, Russell began writing a column in my local newspaper. It's an Atlantic provinces syndicated editorial column. But what about Walt?

Yes, what about Walt. Walt is a lonely, middle aged janitor at a grocery store, who has a hobby of picking up disposed grocery lists, and trying to build a person based on what was on the list. Seems benign in the beginning. But he reveals that he lurks some of the women on Facebook, that some lists are written on the back of discarded bills (with addresses) and the reader begins to have some concerns about Walt. He's lonely, and quite a bit creepy.  Then some back story about his wife who disappeared as the marriage was breaking down. Two policemen in St John's, Newfoundland, are assigned to look into cold cases, and it seems Walt is a prime suspect in his wife Mary's disappearance. Walt is moving up a notch into lonely, creepy, maybe wife killer.

I liked the writing, I liked the pacing, I liked the different narrative voices (Walt, the cop, and Alisha's diary entries), and so help me, I kinda liked Walt. Well, maybe not liked, but I felt for him. He had no personal contact in his day to day life, not a single person to talk to. He developed a world that he was able to be content with, imagining these women from the grocery store. And it is not clear, for much of the story, whether Walt is a stalker escalating to killer, or a guy who is creepy, but harmless. The tension builds, slowly, and I loved how the book developed. Great read!