released Anyone But Her. An Indie Next selection, New York Times bestseller, and winner of the WILLA Literary Award, The Bookseller is slated to be a motion picture produced by Julia Roberts. Swanson is also the editor of the award-winning anthology Denver Noir, which features dark, morally ambiguous stories set in and around Denver, written by 14 notable literary and mystery authors.
She applied the Page 69 Test to Anyone But Her and reported the following:
On page 69 of Anyone But Her, it’s October 1979, and James, the father of the main character, Suzanne, has just announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Peggy while the family is having a “special dinner” (14-year-old Suzanne has even been served a small glass of wine by her father, something that’s never happened before). Some months earlier, Suzanne’s mother (and James’s wife), Alex, was killed during an armed robbery of her Denver record store.Visit Cynthia Swanson's website.
Anyone But Her opens about six weeks before the page 69 scene, with Alex’s ghost appearing to Suzanne, urging Suzanne to intervene in James and Peggy’s relationship. When Suzanne attempts to do so, the consequences are long-lasting—all the way to 2004, when adult Suzanne must reconcile with the ghosts—and repercussions—of the past.
In the page 69 scene, after the engagement announcement, Suzanne’s younger brother, Chris, asks for more milk. The scene continues:Peggy rose, scurrying to the kitchen with his cup. From the doorway, I heard her humming. It sounded like that 1960s song about going to the chapel.Does page 69 give a good sense of the entire book? Partially, yes. Because the story is dual timeline, alternating chapter by chapter, a single page can logically only contain a scene set in one of the timelines. That being said, this 1979 scene is key. Suzanne was tasked by her mother’s ghost with ensuring that James and Peggy’s relationship ends before it gets off the ground. The engagement announcement makes it clear that Suzanne is failing in that task. For a 14-year-old girl mourning the loss of her mother, this is enormous.
Holy freakin’ hell.
“Do you have anything to articulate?” Dad asked me. “Any inquiries?”
“None that can be answered in the time it takes to pour Chris a cup of milk.” I refilled my wineglass. “This seems awfully fast, Dad. What’s the rush?”
He nodded toward my glass. “You were only meant to have a minuscule amount, miss. Just for jollification.”
Could he never talk like a regular person? “You didn’t answer my question,” I said.
“Peggy suggested that since we were getting serious, we should make a commitment.”
“Mom’s only been gone for seven months,” I replied. “If Peggy really loved you, she could wait.”
This turn of events sets Suzanne onto a more determined investigative path. She’s already discovered that Peggy’s behavior and some of her relationships are suspect. After this scene, Suzanne resolves to learn everything she can about Peggy, in an attempt to break up Peggy and James.
As the story unfolds, alternating between 1979 and 2004, the mystery of Peggy—and what happens to her relationship with James—is revealed. In 2004, adult Suzanne hesitantly returns to Denver to live with her husband and children after decades away, and attempts to forge a new life in her hometown and put the past in the past. But she can’t shake the disquieting feeling that she’s being followed, and that she—or her children—might be in danger.
The Page 69 Test: The Bookseller.
The Page 69 Test: The Glass Forest.
Writers Read: Cynthia Swanson (February 2018).
Q&A with Cynthia Swanson.
--Marshal Zeringue