The Page 69 Test: "The Suite Spot"

Friday, March 11, 2022

"The Suite Spot"

Trish Doller is a writer, traveler, and dog rescuer, but not necessarily in that order. She is the international bestselling author of Float Plan, The Suite Spot,

and Off the Map. She has also written several YA novels, including the critically acclaimed Something Like Normal. When she's not writing, Doller loves sailing, camping, and avoiding housework. She lives in southwest Florida with an opinionated herding dog and an ex-pirate.

Doller applied the Page 69 Test to The Suite Spot and reported the following:

Page 69 of The Suite Spot is a scene that follows a tense moment between main character, Rachel, and her employer, Mason, as they stop for lunch at a waterfront park while on a supply run to the mainland.
The return trip to Kelleys Island is excruciating. Mason gives off a boiling kettle vibe the whole way and even Maisie must sense it, because she plays with her new pack of little plastic dinosaurs without the usual narration, which typically involves mermaids and at least one Disney princess. Without having to focus on driving--or talking--I notice things I didn't see before. Pizza places. The local farm stand still closed for the season. And a giant fiberglass waiter standing on the side of the road. he's wearing a black jacket and red bow tie, with metal framework where his hands should be--like there was once a sign or he was holding something. It's probably some retro roadside attraction with a fun backstory and I'm desperately curious, but the quiet, devastating way Mason said no when I asked if he'd lost custody of his child in the divorce still haunts my heart.

Back at the house, I give Mason a wide berth as we stash away our groceries. Afterward I unload the plants and other purchases, and put Maisie down for a nap. Yōkai slips into the room as I shut the door. Downstairs, Mason isn't in the kitchen or living room. And when I check his bedroom--which turns out to be a converted sunroom with French doors--I discover a desk drowning in paperwork and a futon made up for sleeping. It doesn't make sense to me that he owns this big, beautiful old house and relegates himself to the tiniest space. What the hell has he been through?
I think this passage definitely passes the Page 69 Test because it gives the reader a sense that Rachel's boss is going through some things that he's not willing or able to share with Rachel. It also gives a taste of midwestern setting and the hint that Rachel's daughter, Maisie is a personality in her own right.