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The Evening Shades
The Evening Shades resonates with the comfort and beauty of Kent Haruf’s Our Souls at Night and the mystery and suspense of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River.
One afternoon in the autumn of 1972, a lonely widow in Mt. Gilead, Illinois, offers to rent a room in her house to a socially awkward man, a stranger who has come to town. It is risky—she doesn’t know anything about him, and she hadn’t thought to take in a renter. But Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone. Henry Dees, haunted by the past he carries with him from Tower Hill, Indiana, is plagued by a tremendous guilt about things he did and didn’t do that led to the death of a little girl back home. How can he face the rest of his life?
The Evening Shades is as moving and suspenseful as its predecesser, Pulitzer finalist The Bright Forever.
It is a story of love found in middle age and the joy it promises but not without serious complications. There is the bereaved family of the little girl, who are holding their own secrets about the mysterious disappearances of both the man who killed their daughter and Henry Dees.
The Evening Shades looks at one lonely woman’s last chance at love and one shy man’s attempt to rebuild his life in the aftermath of tragedy. It’s a poignant story of accommodation, resilience, forgiveness, and love in the face of all that threatens the splendor of our ordinary lives.
One afternoon in the autumn of 1972, a lonely widow in Mt. Gilead, Illinois, offers to rent a room in her house to a socially awkward man, a stranger who has come to town. It is risky—she doesn’t know anything about him, and she hadn’t thought to take in a renter. But Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone. Henry Dees, haunted by the past he carries with him from Tower Hill, Indiana, is plagued by a tremendous guilt about things he did and didn’t do that led to the death of a little girl back home. How can he face the rest of his life?
The Evening Shades is as moving and suspenseful as its predecesser, Pulitzer finalist The Bright Forever.
It is a story of love found in middle age and the joy it promises but not without serious complications. There is the bereaved family of the little girl, who are holding their own secrets about the mysterious disappearances of both the man who killed their daughter and Henry Dees.
The Evening Shades looks at one lonely woman’s last chance at love and one shy man’s attempt to rebuild his life in the aftermath of tragedy. It’s a poignant story of accommodation, resilience, forgiveness, and love in the face of all that threatens the splendor of our ordinary lives.
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 25, 2025
26 people are currently reading
329 people want to read
About the author
Lee Martin
12 books139 followersLee Martin is the author of the novels, The Bright Forever, a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; River of Heaven; Quakertown; Break the Skin; Yours, Jean; The Glassmaker's Wife; and the soon-to-be-released, The Evening Shades. He has also published four memoirs, From Our House, Turning Bones, Such a Life, and Gone the Hard Road. His first book was the short story collection, The Least You Need To Know, and he recently published another, The Mutual UFO Netwlrk. He is the co-editor of Passing the Word: Writers on Their Mentors. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in such places as Harper's, Ms., Creative Nonfiction, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, and Glimmer Train. He is the winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. He teaches in the MFA Program at The Ohio State University, where he was the winner of the 2006 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 11, 2025
As soon as I read that this book compared to Kent Haruf’s “Our Souls at Night”, I had to request a copy, as that book holds a special place in my heart. See my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Both books evoke a nostalgia to years past, and each features two lonely people who find companionship later in life when they didn’t think it would be possible to do so again. What makes this book different is that it adds a bit of mystery as to what exactly happened in Tower Hill, Indiana, that would make Henry Dees flee his life in the middle of the night, September 1972.
TW: CHILD MURDER
His inaction may have cost a young girl her life, and he can no longer live with the guilt about what he DID and DID NOT do the night she was killed.
When Henry stops in the tiny town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois, for gas, he wasn’t planning to stay long. His powder blue ‘65 Mercury Comet catches the eye of the woman filling up her Lincoln Continental at the adjacent pump at Hutch’s Sunoco-a lonely Spinster named Edith Green.
And when the wind picks up, catching Edith’s head scarf, it flutters past the stranger who manages to catch it just in time. As he returns it to her, and introductions are made, he mentions that he might like to stay in town for a bit.
Edith impulsively offers to rent him a room in her house. It is risky—and tongues will wag-but Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone.
And, this chance encounter and gust of wind, will end up changing both of their lives.
This quiet story unfolds from several POV’s in both towns, past and present until the two worlds collide. The story is both a search for the truth and a search for forgiveness and a path forward.
I didn’t know that little Katie was murdered when I selected this story, and although Henry is not her killer, he did hold some feelings toward her that weren’t quite right. I think this prevented me from having the same emotional connection to this book that I had for the book it was compared to.
But, I was drawn in by the pensive writing and its melancholy feel, and I am looking forward to reading the author’s earlier work-Pulitzer finalist “The Bright Forever”, which I didn’t realize is actually the book that started this story.
Expected publication date: on March 25, 2025.
Thank You to Melville House for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.
Both books evoke a nostalgia to years past, and each features two lonely people who find companionship later in life when they didn’t think it would be possible to do so again. What makes this book different is that it adds a bit of mystery as to what exactly happened in Tower Hill, Indiana, that would make Henry Dees flee his life in the middle of the night, September 1972.
TW: CHILD MURDER
His inaction may have cost a young girl her life, and he can no longer live with the guilt about what he DID and DID NOT do the night she was killed.
When Henry stops in the tiny town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois, for gas, he wasn’t planning to stay long. His powder blue ‘65 Mercury Comet catches the eye of the woman filling up her Lincoln Continental at the adjacent pump at Hutch’s Sunoco-a lonely Spinster named Edith Green.
And when the wind picks up, catching Edith’s head scarf, it flutters past the stranger who manages to catch it just in time. As he returns it to her, and introductions are made, he mentions that he might like to stay in town for a bit.
Edith impulsively offers to rent him a room in her house. It is risky—and tongues will wag-but Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone.
And, this chance encounter and gust of wind, will end up changing both of their lives.
This quiet story unfolds from several POV’s in both towns, past and present until the two worlds collide. The story is both a search for the truth and a search for forgiveness and a path forward.
I didn’t know that little Katie was murdered when I selected this story, and although Henry is not her killer, he did hold some feelings toward her that weren’t quite right. I think this prevented me from having the same emotional connection to this book that I had for the book it was compared to.
But, I was drawn in by the pensive writing and its melancholy feel, and I am looking forward to reading the author’s earlier work-Pulitzer finalist “The Bright Forever”, which I didn’t realize is actually the book that started this story.
Expected publication date: on March 25, 2025.
Thank You to Melville House for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.
April 1, 2025
EXCERPT: And so it was for our town, a dark month following the death of Katie Mackey. More than anything, we wanted to move on beyond the tragedy, but how could we when there was still so much we didn't know. Who was it that had posted Raymond Wright's bail, and what had happened to Wright once he was free? What did Henry Dees know about all of that? Where had he gone and why? If we couldn't get those answers, we'd be stuck in that summer for the rest of our lives. We'd remember the way the heat was and the way the light stretched on into evening. We'd be able to call to mind exactly where we were when we first heard that Katie was dead. We'd always be afraid that it could happen again. Someone like Raymond R. Wright could take another one of our children.
ABOUT 'THE EVENING SHADES': One afternoon in the autumn of 1972, a lonely widow in Mt. Gilead, Illinois, makes the impromptu decision to rent out a room in her house to a stranger who has come to town. It is risky—she doesn’t know anything about him. But Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone. And Henry Dees is haunted by the past he carries with him from another small town, particularly by the death of a little girl that some people think was his fault.
And slowly, Henry and Edith's suspenseful dance between secrets and trust leads them to start revealing things to each other — and themselves ...
MY THOUGHTS: The Evening Shades is a quiet and deep story featuring two towns - Mt. Gilead, Illinois, the home of Edith Green, a spinster with a car too big for her to handle and a house too quiet for her to stand, and more time than she knew what to do with; and Tower Hill, Indiana, the town Henry Dees, odd bird, a man who kept to himself, a very strange man indeed, flees during a September night.
A chance meeting brings these two together and an impulsive decision on both their parts is the beginning of their love story. Think slow waltz as these two circle one another, taking stock, their relationship moving forward then back, then forward again.
But Henry has something he has to come to terms with, something he has tried but failed to leave behind him in Tower Hill. Edith also has something she has to face up to; but nothing so serious as Henry.
The towns are as much characters in this tale as Edith and Henry, and take their turns at telling their story. Mt. Gilead tells of its distrust of Henry Dees. Where has he come from? What is he doing here? How did he worm his way into Edith Green's affections so quickly? Is he going to hurt their Edith or, even worse, charm her out of the $500,000 she has promised the town library?
Tower Hill is reeling from the abduction and murder of young Katie Mackey and they just know that Henry Dees was somehow involved, but just how is unclear. The big question is, why would a man walk out of his house in the middle of the night and disappear if he's not guilty of something?
My opinion of the characters changed as little details are revealed through conversations, gossip and recall during the course of the story. The characters are flawlessly depicted - they slide from the page and into the room. And best of all is the moral dilemma. If there is anything to take away from this read it is that no one is perfect - we do the best that we can do at the time; and, hindsight is always 20/20 vision.
The Evening Shades quietly stirred my emotions. I was spellbound. The writing is beautiful and evocative of a time we can never go back to. That may or may not be a good thing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.4
#TheEveningShades #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: Lee was born in southeastern Illinois, where his father farmed eighty acres in Lawrence County’s Lukin Township. The gravel road that went past the lane to the Martin home, was the road that divided Lawrence County from Richland County, and Lee was amazed as a young boy by the fact that simply walking across the road could move him from one county to the next. In 1963, when he was eight, those gravel roads that ran straight and formed right angles when they intersected moved him to the “hard roads”—first the blacktop into Sumner, and then U.S. Route 50 and Illinois Route 49—heading north to the family’s new home during the school year in Oak Forest, a southern suburb of Chicago, where his mother had accepted an offer to teach third grade for Arbor Park School District #145. Just like that, the familiarity of the two-room Lukin School, the small Berryville Church of Christ, and the shops and cafes of Sumner, was replaced by the strangeness of urban living.
Although the family returned to the farm for holidays and summer vacation (and finally moved back downstate when Lee started high school), he never lost the feeling of being caught between cultures—an experience repeated time and time again through his adult years when he was a nomad in academia for a good while, living and teaching (and always writing!) in Evansville, Indiana; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Athens, Ohio; Memphis, Tennessee; Lincoln, Nebraska; Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Denton, Texas. He now lives in Grove City, Ohio, with his wife, Cathy, and their orange tabby, Stella the Cat.
Among his students at Ohio State, he’s known for his collection of wind-up toys—a collection that keeps growing as more and more people present him with additions. He insists that each one has a pedagogical purpose, and, therefore, an important place in the classroom, where he invites students to not take themselves too seriously. His favorite quote about writing, which he passes on in each class he teaches, comes from Isak Dinesen, who said, “Write a little every day, without hope, without despair.”
Before landing a job teaching creative writing, he worked in a shoe factory, a garment factory, a tire repairs manufacturing plant, a department store. He earned money umpiring men’s slow-pitch softball games, gathering addresses for the U.S. Census Bureau, delivering pizzas, detasseling corn for the Dekalb Seed Corn Company, flipping burgers at Hardees, and working on a Christmas Tree Farm. Through all those jobs, he kept writing. If that’s what gives you pleasure, he hopes you will, too. (Source: leemartinauthor.com - abridged)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Melville House Publishing via NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of The Evening Shades by Lee Marting for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
ABOUT 'THE EVENING SHADES': One afternoon in the autumn of 1972, a lonely widow in Mt. Gilead, Illinois, makes the impromptu decision to rent out a room in her house to a stranger who has come to town. It is risky—she doesn’t know anything about him. But Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone. And Henry Dees is haunted by the past he carries with him from another small town, particularly by the death of a little girl that some people think was his fault.
And slowly, Henry and Edith's suspenseful dance between secrets and trust leads them to start revealing things to each other — and themselves ...
MY THOUGHTS: The Evening Shades is a quiet and deep story featuring two towns - Mt. Gilead, Illinois, the home of Edith Green, a spinster with a car too big for her to handle and a house too quiet for her to stand, and more time than she knew what to do with; and Tower Hill, Indiana, the town Henry Dees, odd bird, a man who kept to himself, a very strange man indeed, flees during a September night.
A chance meeting brings these two together and an impulsive decision on both their parts is the beginning of their love story. Think slow waltz as these two circle one another, taking stock, their relationship moving forward then back, then forward again.
But Henry has something he has to come to terms with, something he has tried but failed to leave behind him in Tower Hill. Edith also has something she has to face up to; but nothing so serious as Henry.
The towns are as much characters in this tale as Edith and Henry, and take their turns at telling their story. Mt. Gilead tells of its distrust of Henry Dees. Where has he come from? What is he doing here? How did he worm his way into Edith Green's affections so quickly? Is he going to hurt their Edith or, even worse, charm her out of the $500,000 she has promised the town library?
Tower Hill is reeling from the abduction and murder of young Katie Mackey and they just know that Henry Dees was somehow involved, but just how is unclear. The big question is, why would a man walk out of his house in the middle of the night and disappear if he's not guilty of something?
My opinion of the characters changed as little details are revealed through conversations, gossip and recall during the course of the story. The characters are flawlessly depicted - they slide from the page and into the room. And best of all is the moral dilemma. If there is anything to take away from this read it is that no one is perfect - we do the best that we can do at the time; and, hindsight is always 20/20 vision.
The Evening Shades quietly stirred my emotions. I was spellbound. The writing is beautiful and evocative of a time we can never go back to. That may or may not be a good thing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.4
#TheEveningShades #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: Lee was born in southeastern Illinois, where his father farmed eighty acres in Lawrence County’s Lukin Township. The gravel road that went past the lane to the Martin home, was the road that divided Lawrence County from Richland County, and Lee was amazed as a young boy by the fact that simply walking across the road could move him from one county to the next. In 1963, when he was eight, those gravel roads that ran straight and formed right angles when they intersected moved him to the “hard roads”—first the blacktop into Sumner, and then U.S. Route 50 and Illinois Route 49—heading north to the family’s new home during the school year in Oak Forest, a southern suburb of Chicago, where his mother had accepted an offer to teach third grade for Arbor Park School District #145. Just like that, the familiarity of the two-room Lukin School, the small Berryville Church of Christ, and the shops and cafes of Sumner, was replaced by the strangeness of urban living.
Although the family returned to the farm for holidays and summer vacation (and finally moved back downstate when Lee started high school), he never lost the feeling of being caught between cultures—an experience repeated time and time again through his adult years when he was a nomad in academia for a good while, living and teaching (and always writing!) in Evansville, Indiana; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Athens, Ohio; Memphis, Tennessee; Lincoln, Nebraska; Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Denton, Texas. He now lives in Grove City, Ohio, with his wife, Cathy, and their orange tabby, Stella the Cat.
Among his students at Ohio State, he’s known for his collection of wind-up toys—a collection that keeps growing as more and more people present him with additions. He insists that each one has a pedagogical purpose, and, therefore, an important place in the classroom, where he invites students to not take themselves too seriously. His favorite quote about writing, which he passes on in each class he teaches, comes from Isak Dinesen, who said, “Write a little every day, without hope, without despair.”
Before landing a job teaching creative writing, he worked in a shoe factory, a garment factory, a tire repairs manufacturing plant, a department store. He earned money umpiring men’s slow-pitch softball games, gathering addresses for the U.S. Census Bureau, delivering pizzas, detasseling corn for the Dekalb Seed Corn Company, flipping burgers at Hardees, and working on a Christmas Tree Farm. Through all those jobs, he kept writing. If that’s what gives you pleasure, he hopes you will, too. (Source: leemartinauthor.com - abridged)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Melville House Publishing via NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of The Evening Shades by Lee Marting for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
March 9, 2025
I wouldn't normally have picked this book to read based on the description, but I ended up with it. I enjoy keeping up with new historical fiction, and I'm always willing to give a book a chance. However, this is a truly problematic and bizarre book that I do not recommend.
The main character, who we are supposed to side with and think is basically a decent human being, is tortured by his tangential (accidental) role in the killing of a young girl - a girl he "loved like a father." This fatherly love comes out as, among other things, the following behavior:
- An impulsive kiss he gives her that makes him feel ashamed.
- Watching her in her family's house through the windows.
- Going into her bedroom and stealing a picture of her and a lock of her hair, then rubbing the hair on his cheek.
- Writing their names together in a heart in one of her books.
The novel wants us to excuse this behavior because he was a lonely bachelor and he didn't mean any harm. The problem is really everyone else's perception of his oddities, because they don't understand what a good guy he is underneath it all.
I kept thinking the narrative was going to get interesting - it would complicate our understanding of his character, raise difficulties about his "fatherly love" for the girl, or otherwise help me feel less like washing my hands after I read it. Nope. What it does is give him ANOTHER situation in which he is allowed to form a bond with ANOTHER young girl, leading to him spending lots of time with her and walking the streets holding her hand. All innocent, of course! Just Henry Dees being his lovable self.
There are other issues, but I think that says enough.
The main character, who we are supposed to side with and think is basically a decent human being, is tortured by his tangential (accidental) role in the killing of a young girl - a girl he "loved like a father." This fatherly love comes out as, among other things, the following behavior:
- An impulsive kiss he gives her that makes him feel ashamed.
- Watching her in her family's house through the windows.
- Going into her bedroom and stealing a picture of her and a lock of her hair, then rubbing the hair on his cheek.
- Writing their names together in a heart in one of her books.
The novel wants us to excuse this behavior because he was a lonely bachelor and he didn't mean any harm. The problem is really everyone else's perception of his oddities, because they don't understand what a good guy he is underneath it all.
I kept thinking the narrative was going to get interesting - it would complicate our understanding of his character, raise difficulties about his "fatherly love" for the girl, or otherwise help me feel less like washing my hands after I read it. Nope. What it does is give him ANOTHER situation in which he is allowed to form a bond with ANOTHER young girl, leading to him spending lots of time with her and walking the streets holding her hand. All innocent, of course! Just Henry Dees being his lovable self.
There are other issues, but I think that says enough.
April 9, 2025
The Evening Shades is a compelling love story between Edith Green and Henry Dees, both in their sixties, set amongst murder, tragedy, lies, secrets, and mystery. I was creeped out by Henry's adolescent love for nine year old Katie. Edith Green, however, was steadfast in her love and deep support, becoming Henry's rock and giving him the first relationship in his life and his first sexual experience.
The structure of the novel is unique with different voices for each chapter clearly defined. Which is not unique. The unique part was the POV of the townspeople in two different Midwestern small towns. They reminded me of the Greek choruses. Martin captures the small town quite well. The personalities are also clearly presented and consistent. It was my first experience of Lee Martin and certainly not my last. I was sad to leave the characters who had burrowed into my heart. And the writing which inspired me as a writer.
The structure of the novel is unique with different voices for each chapter clearly defined. Which is not unique. The unique part was the POV of the townspeople in two different Midwestern small towns. They reminded me of the Greek choruses. Martin captures the small town quite well. The personalities are also clearly presented and consistent. It was my first experience of Lee Martin and certainly not my last. I was sad to leave the characters who had burrowed into my heart. And the writing which inspired me as a writer.
April 30, 2025
I liked this one a lot!
It is the story of a middle-aged woman, Edith, living alone in a small town -- until a stranger comes into town and she decides to rent a room to him. Who is he? Where did he come from? What is his background? And how will Edith react when she finds out the answers to these questions?
Yes, many questions need to be answered AND, guess what -- they will be answered by the end of the book! But the way that this author "draws out" the story and "draws in" the reader is very skillful and satisfying.
I highly recommend it!
It is the story of a middle-aged woman, Edith, living alone in a small town -- until a stranger comes into town and she decides to rent a room to him. Who is he? Where did he come from? What is his background? And how will Edith react when she finds out the answers to these questions?
Yes, many questions need to be answered AND, guess what -- they will be answered by the end of the book! But the way that this author "draws out" the story and "draws in" the reader is very skillful and satisfying.
I highly recommend it!
May 12, 2025
I loved the book like I haven’t loved a book since A Gentleman in Moscow or Everyone Brave Is Forgiven. A page turner which should not be rushed. Story of two aging people who thought love/life had passed them by. Both harbor secrets. Truly beautifully written.
May 2, 2025
Sequel the the Bright Forever this novel is en elegy to small town America in all its beauty, frustrations, contradictions and kindness. Our hero Henry Dees makes his way to a new town, to escape his tortured unhappy past in Town Hill, the setting of The Bright Forever. In Mt. Gilead, he defies expectations, falls in love and even becomes the town hero. But, as we would expect, the past does catch up him. Will he face it and more importantly, does he face it alone?
The Evening Shades was not only a beautiful tribute to these vanishing small places, but it was an unusual and tender love story and an exploration of the idea that many people in our worlds are simply craving companionship.
The writing is lush and haunting and the story goes in unexpected places.
The Evening Shades was not only a beautiful tribute to these vanishing small places, but it was an unusual and tender love story and an exploration of the idea that many people in our worlds are simply craving companionship.
The writing is lush and haunting and the story goes in unexpected places.
April 3, 2025
I loved this storyline, and I had a hard time putting this book down!
Mr. Dees is an intriguing man who appears to genuinely care for his students. He tutors them and is very interested in their home life. Mr. Dees struggles with his decisions often but always tries to do the right thing, no matter what situation he is in, and he often weighs his options before acting. This can sometimes cause his reaction time to be too slow like in the case of the Mackey girl.
Edith Green is also a very powerful character in this story. she strives to make the correct decisions too but she wants people to like her and will do things to make sure they do. She pines over a lost love. She is lonely too. This is why when Henry crosses paths with Edith they are quite a match. Henry Dees is looking for a new life and he sees it in hooking up with Edith.
A scarf of Ms. Green keeps reappearing in the story and is a symbol of how Edith and Henry are met to be with each other. However, a man working at a gas station does not agree with this at all because he wants Edith for himself. This creates a bit of drama as Henry and Edith become more involved, and they decide to wed.
Edith has created her drama at the library where she volunteers by pledging a donation that she really can not honor. This becomes an item that Henry and she discuss often in private and how to handle it. As their days unfold together the small town is always watching and trying to find out more about Mr. Henry Dees. Henry decides to become a substitute teacher at the local school. He meets another student, Roxie that he cares about a lot and she is in their neighborhood.
Roxie is a very smart girl and she does not like getting less than a hundred percent on work in class. When Henry marks a math problem as being incorrect, Roxie takes it to heart and is very upset. She goes home and tells her mother about it. Her mother visits Edith and Henry to discuss this and Henry informs her of what happened and how he tried to reason with Roxie about it. Edith backs up Henry's decision to score the paper as he did because of the missed calculation. He understands that Roxie just flipped the two numbers around but wrong is wrong in his book. Roxie can't seem to drop this and leave it behind her.
Mr. Dees' history in another small town starts to cause problems for him when a new car is delivered to his old town. Things are overheard and this new information about Henry is waiting to come to light. This is where the story starts to move faster. When the information does surface, Edith is a bit taken aback. She and Henry are at the local diner and many other residents are there too when this is revealed. The town starts to talk about Mr. Dees' connection to this other location and what happened there with his other female student.
Edith stands by Henry through it all and she goes back with him to face his past. There are many twists and turns in the case of this female student and what happened.
Bertie still pines for Edith. Hutch's Sunoco becomes a recurring place where Henry, Edith, and Bertie are connected. Edith's friends at the library are always discussing her situation with Mr. Dees. Lila Coon and Francine Brumley are making plans for this donation money that Edith is going to gift to the local library.
Tower Hill comes back to Henry with memories he doesn't like to recall and he often can't sleep. Edith becomes concerned about him. She is aware of his sleepless nights. The Heights haunt Henry because this is where he remembers Katie being with her bike and also Mr. Wright coming along in his truck. It is a place where he does not like what happens when he makes a decision to go with Mr. Wright and take Katie along because her bike chain came off. Things spin out of control for Henry during this ride in Mr. Wright's truck. Henry finds himself revisiting this scene in his dreams.
The Mackey family is at the center of Mr. Dees' problems and what he must do when he returns to Tower Hill with Edith. The truth must come out one way or another about the disappearance of Raymond Wright. Clues lead to Mr. Dees.
Edith Green still believes she knows the real Henry Dees and the truth will set them free. However, not everyone believes it or Henry Dees. Mr. Mackey has his own story about what happened after they picked up Raymond Wright. Patsy Mackey is in turmoil over the whole situation because of their son.
Mt. Gilead is where the love story of Edith and Henry springs to life. It is the talk of the town.
Bertie becomes jealous of their relationship and he contacts the law at Tower Hill about Henry. This puts the ball rolling to get rid of Henry.
Clare wants answers about what happened to Raymond. She misses her husband, even though, he made mistakes. She does not care about his past and she still loves him. Clare keeps thinking about the Tophat Inn and dancing with Raymond there.
This is a heartland story of two small towns and their residents. Mr. Dees connects the two as he drives his blue Comet to a new location to find a new life different from his last location. Henry wants to remain in education. Edith provides him with a home.
Enjoy this well-written story by turning the pages to reveal the secret of Mr. Dees.
Mr. Dees is an intriguing man who appears to genuinely care for his students. He tutors them and is very interested in their home life. Mr. Dees struggles with his decisions often but always tries to do the right thing, no matter what situation he is in, and he often weighs his options before acting. This can sometimes cause his reaction time to be too slow like in the case of the Mackey girl.
Edith Green is also a very powerful character in this story. she strives to make the correct decisions too but she wants people to like her and will do things to make sure they do. She pines over a lost love. She is lonely too. This is why when Henry crosses paths with Edith they are quite a match. Henry Dees is looking for a new life and he sees it in hooking up with Edith.
A scarf of Ms. Green keeps reappearing in the story and is a symbol of how Edith and Henry are met to be with each other. However, a man working at a gas station does not agree with this at all because he wants Edith for himself. This creates a bit of drama as Henry and Edith become more involved, and they decide to wed.
Edith has created her drama at the library where she volunteers by pledging a donation that she really can not honor. This becomes an item that Henry and she discuss often in private and how to handle it. As their days unfold together the small town is always watching and trying to find out more about Mr. Henry Dees. Henry decides to become a substitute teacher at the local school. He meets another student, Roxie that he cares about a lot and she is in their neighborhood.
Roxie is a very smart girl and she does not like getting less than a hundred percent on work in class. When Henry marks a math problem as being incorrect, Roxie takes it to heart and is very upset. She goes home and tells her mother about it. Her mother visits Edith and Henry to discuss this and Henry informs her of what happened and how he tried to reason with Roxie about it. Edith backs up Henry's decision to score the paper as he did because of the missed calculation. He understands that Roxie just flipped the two numbers around but wrong is wrong in his book. Roxie can't seem to drop this and leave it behind her.
Mr. Dees' history in another small town starts to cause problems for him when a new car is delivered to his old town. Things are overheard and this new information about Henry is waiting to come to light. This is where the story starts to move faster. When the information does surface, Edith is a bit taken aback. She and Henry are at the local diner and many other residents are there too when this is revealed. The town starts to talk about Mr. Dees' connection to this other location and what happened there with his other female student.
Edith stands by Henry through it all and she goes back with him to face his past. There are many twists and turns in the case of this female student and what happened.
Bertie still pines for Edith. Hutch's Sunoco becomes a recurring place where Henry, Edith, and Bertie are connected. Edith's friends at the library are always discussing her situation with Mr. Dees. Lila Coon and Francine Brumley are making plans for this donation money that Edith is going to gift to the local library.
Tower Hill comes back to Henry with memories he doesn't like to recall and he often can't sleep. Edith becomes concerned about him. She is aware of his sleepless nights. The Heights haunt Henry because this is where he remembers Katie being with her bike and also Mr. Wright coming along in his truck. It is a place where he does not like what happens when he makes a decision to go with Mr. Wright and take Katie along because her bike chain came off. Things spin out of control for Henry during this ride in Mr. Wright's truck. Henry finds himself revisiting this scene in his dreams.
The Mackey family is at the center of Mr. Dees' problems and what he must do when he returns to Tower Hill with Edith. The truth must come out one way or another about the disappearance of Raymond Wright. Clues lead to Mr. Dees.
Edith Green still believes she knows the real Henry Dees and the truth will set them free. However, not everyone believes it or Henry Dees. Mr. Mackey has his own story about what happened after they picked up Raymond Wright. Patsy Mackey is in turmoil over the whole situation because of their son.
Mt. Gilead is where the love story of Edith and Henry springs to life. It is the talk of the town.
Bertie becomes jealous of their relationship and he contacts the law at Tower Hill about Henry. This puts the ball rolling to get rid of Henry.
Clare wants answers about what happened to Raymond. She misses her husband, even though, he made mistakes. She does not care about his past and she still loves him. Clare keeps thinking about the Tophat Inn and dancing with Raymond there.
This is a heartland story of two small towns and their residents. Mr. Dees connects the two as he drives his blue Comet to a new location to find a new life different from his last location. Henry wants to remain in education. Edith provides him with a home.
Enjoy this well-written story by turning the pages to reveal the secret of Mr. Dees.
January 2, 2025
Driving a spotless, powder blue ‘65 Mercury Comet, Henry Dees stopped for gas in the one
horse town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois. It was the year 1972. Many businesses had shuttered their
doors, young families were settling elsewhere. A chance meeting occurred when Edith Green
stopped for gas. As her scarf went airborne, lifted by a sudden breeze, Henry rescued it and
returned it to her. Henry had arrived in St. Gilead, suitcase in hand, having disappeared from the
equally small town of Tower Hill, Indiana. Mt. Gilead seemed as good a place as any. The
gossip mill would wonder if his arrival was connected to the disappearance and death of little
Katie Mackey of Tower Hill.
Imagine the solitary life of Edith Green. She had devoted herself to caring for her parents. Now
all alone, the fifty year old spinster volunteered at the local library. To garner attention and
status, she pledged a generous donation to the library, money she did not possess. Why in the
world did she offer to rent a room in her house to Henry Dees, a total stranger? But, Henry
accepted the generous offer bringing his suitcase as well as his hidden emotional baggage to
Edith’s door. They were two middle aged people, lonely and looking for companionship.
Henry Dees arrival connected Mt. Gilead to Tower Hill. The reader is privy to the gossip
traveling, at the speed of light, through each town. In Mt. Gilead, most “news” was shared in the
Town Talk Cafe. Some of the colorful residents aimed to protect Edith from the outside influence
of the stranger…typical interference…after all, the liberal library donation was at stake.
What did Henry know about the death of both little Katie Mackey, daughter of Mitchell Mackey,
the owner of the Mackey Glassworks Company and Raymond R. Wright, Katie’s killer? One
thing was for certain, Mitchell’s words to Henry, “do whatever it is you have to do” would haunt
Henry adding more fuel to his moral dilemma.
Tenderness would create a safety net for Edith and Henry to divulge their deepest secrets and
regrets. Henry might perhaps question his inaction in one instance and his heroic action at
another juncture. Seeds of a budding love would emerge, their shortcomings addressed..
“The Evening Shades” by Lee Martin is the tale of two small Midwest towns. The reader will
come to know many of the town dwellers through the detailed conversations and snippets of
gossip shared through the grapevine. In the blink of an eye, a decision can impact one’s life
forever. Some people will be judgmental, others will be supportive. A morally unsettling novel.
Thank you Kezia Velista @ Melville House Publishers for the print ARC in exchange for an
honest review.
horse town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois. It was the year 1972. Many businesses had shuttered their
doors, young families were settling elsewhere. A chance meeting occurred when Edith Green
stopped for gas. As her scarf went airborne, lifted by a sudden breeze, Henry rescued it and
returned it to her. Henry had arrived in St. Gilead, suitcase in hand, having disappeared from the
equally small town of Tower Hill, Indiana. Mt. Gilead seemed as good a place as any. The
gossip mill would wonder if his arrival was connected to the disappearance and death of little
Katie Mackey of Tower Hill.
Imagine the solitary life of Edith Green. She had devoted herself to caring for her parents. Now
all alone, the fifty year old spinster volunteered at the local library. To garner attention and
status, she pledged a generous donation to the library, money she did not possess. Why in the
world did she offer to rent a room in her house to Henry Dees, a total stranger? But, Henry
accepted the generous offer bringing his suitcase as well as his hidden emotional baggage to
Edith’s door. They were two middle aged people, lonely and looking for companionship.
Henry Dees arrival connected Mt. Gilead to Tower Hill. The reader is privy to the gossip
traveling, at the speed of light, through each town. In Mt. Gilead, most “news” was shared in the
Town Talk Cafe. Some of the colorful residents aimed to protect Edith from the outside influence
of the stranger…typical interference…after all, the liberal library donation was at stake.
What did Henry know about the death of both little Katie Mackey, daughter of Mitchell Mackey,
the owner of the Mackey Glassworks Company and Raymond R. Wright, Katie’s killer? One
thing was for certain, Mitchell’s words to Henry, “do whatever it is you have to do” would haunt
Henry adding more fuel to his moral dilemma.
Tenderness would create a safety net for Edith and Henry to divulge their deepest secrets and
regrets. Henry might perhaps question his inaction in one instance and his heroic action at
another juncture. Seeds of a budding love would emerge, their shortcomings addressed..
“The Evening Shades” by Lee Martin is the tale of two small Midwest towns. The reader will
come to know many of the town dwellers through the detailed conversations and snippets of
gossip shared through the grapevine. In the blink of an eye, a decision can impact one’s life
forever. Some people will be judgmental, others will be supportive. A morally unsettling novel.
Thank you Kezia Velista @ Melville House Publishers for the print ARC in exchange for an
honest review.
April 30, 2025
It's been a long time since I've read a book that totally mesmerized me and sucked me in on page one. Martin takes us to Mt. Gilead, Illinois, a place where townspeople genuinely care about one another and their community. Mt. Gilead is a romantic, homey, down-to-earth Midwestern town. It's folksy, family-centric, and it's hard-working, genuine, citizens remind me of two of my favorite fictional towns: Bedford Falls in "It's A Wonderful Life" and Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show.
In Mt. Gilead, townsfolk lookout for each other. They help others whenever they can, and they try their best to do what's right and just.
When Henry Dees drives into Mt. Gilead in his flashy powder blue Mustang Comet, tongues wag all over town. Dees approaches Edith Green, a single woman, and she offers to rent him a room in her house. Oh how the gossip flies. Some townsfolk say that Dees is plotting to take Edith's money.
Everyone in Mt. Gilead knows that Edith has money. She has promised the local school a gift of $500,000. But, in reality, Edith doesn't have that kind money. In fact, she has no idea how or where to get $500,000. Teachers and school officials keep asking Edith, "When are you going to present that check to the school?" Edith won't say, because she doesn't have the money. Why did Edith make such a huge offer? Edith longs for recognition in Mt. Gilead. She wants to be seen as someone other than just "Mt. Gilead's lonely spinster."
When Henry Dees arrives in Mt. Gilead, he longing for new start and eager to put the tragic death of his student behind him. It won't be easy. Locals have begun an investigation and Dees must explain to authorities all that he knows about this crime.
This one's a page-turner. Lee Martin breathes life into his colorful well-formed characters and creates a moving and intriguing story, full of twists and turns. Martin is such a skillful storyteller and presents a tale full of love, hope, ambition, and tragedy. I will be thinking about this story for a long, long time.
In Mt. Gilead, townsfolk lookout for each other. They help others whenever they can, and they try their best to do what's right and just.
When Henry Dees drives into Mt. Gilead in his flashy powder blue Mustang Comet, tongues wag all over town. Dees approaches Edith Green, a single woman, and she offers to rent him a room in her house. Oh how the gossip flies. Some townsfolk say that Dees is plotting to take Edith's money.
Everyone in Mt. Gilead knows that Edith has money. She has promised the local school a gift of $500,000. But, in reality, Edith doesn't have that kind money. In fact, she has no idea how or where to get $500,000. Teachers and school officials keep asking Edith, "When are you going to present that check to the school?" Edith won't say, because she doesn't have the money. Why did Edith make such a huge offer? Edith longs for recognition in Mt. Gilead. She wants to be seen as someone other than just "Mt. Gilead's lonely spinster."
When Henry Dees arrives in Mt. Gilead, he longing for new start and eager to put the tragic death of his student behind him. It won't be easy. Locals have begun an investigation and Dees must explain to authorities all that he knows about this crime.
This one's a page-turner. Lee Martin breathes life into his colorful well-formed characters and creates a moving and intriguing story, full of twists and turns. Martin is such a skillful storyteller and presents a tale full of love, hope, ambition, and tragedy. I will be thinking about this story for a long, long time.
June 28, 2025
"Our stumbles and sins never lessen the impact of the consequences. Pain is pain, and grief is grief, no matter how you come by it."
Henry Dees, a math teacher from Tower Hill, Indiana, has a secret, and he's brought it to Mt. Gilead, Illinois, population 2,314.
Back in Tower Hill, 9-year-old Katie Mackey, a girl Henry once tutored, is found in a shallow grave, brutally murdered. Henry more than tutored Katie - he loved her. His love for Katie exceeded the boundaries of acceptable behavior: once kissing her on the cheek, pocketing a fluff of her hair from a hairbrush, and holding onto one of her overdue library books.
But did he kill her?
And what of Katie's grief-stricken father, Mitch? A successful man in a small town; the owner of the local glassworks - whose furnaces can reach 3,200 degrees.
There's the local drunk, Dean, who suddenly turned over a new leaf; and Raymond, a pill-popping loner with an edge.
And then there's Edith Green. A 50-something spinster who never married. She sees something in Henry Dees, and she let's him into her home, and later her heart, at Mt. Gilead, even as he clearly goes to war with himself over something he simply can't put behind him, nor bury for long in Tower Hill.
The Evening Shades is a character study, wrapped up in the chronicles of small town Midwestern life, where secrets don't stay buried long. It's more drama than thriller, and a story simply told. What caught my interest in the book was its praise from Andre Dubus III, who writes similar stories, albeit of a higher caliber.
Good story, good writing - but shy of greatness.
3.5 out of 5
Henry Dees, a math teacher from Tower Hill, Indiana, has a secret, and he's brought it to Mt. Gilead, Illinois, population 2,314.
Back in Tower Hill, 9-year-old Katie Mackey, a girl Henry once tutored, is found in a shallow grave, brutally murdered. Henry more than tutored Katie - he loved her. His love for Katie exceeded the boundaries of acceptable behavior: once kissing her on the cheek, pocketing a fluff of her hair from a hairbrush, and holding onto one of her overdue library books.
But did he kill her?
And what of Katie's grief-stricken father, Mitch? A successful man in a small town; the owner of the local glassworks - whose furnaces can reach 3,200 degrees.
There's the local drunk, Dean, who suddenly turned over a new leaf; and Raymond, a pill-popping loner with an edge.
And then there's Edith Green. A 50-something spinster who never married. She sees something in Henry Dees, and she let's him into her home, and later her heart, at Mt. Gilead, even as he clearly goes to war with himself over something he simply can't put behind him, nor bury for long in Tower Hill.
The Evening Shades is a character study, wrapped up in the chronicles of small town Midwestern life, where secrets don't stay buried long. It's more drama than thriller, and a story simply told. What caught my interest in the book was its praise from Andre Dubus III, who writes similar stories, albeit of a higher caliber.
Good story, good writing - but shy of greatness.
3.5 out of 5
December 31, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. I read Lee Martin's book, "The Bright Forever" years ago when it was first published and I never forgot it. I was pleased to get a copy of "The Evening Shades." The year is 1972 and the story is centered around Henry, a middle-aged math teacher, and Edith, a middle aged woman who spent her younger years caring for her elderly parents. Neither of them has ever been lucky in love. Both of them have a secret. Edith hides her financial status from the people of the small town she lives in and Henry hides a bigger secret which is much more damning. A chance encounter when Henry is passing through Edith's town pairs the two of them and their stories unwind together. I read this book in two days as I was eager to find out what would happen. A very satisfying read.
March 25, 2025
Beautifully written, melancholy and hopeful. Mr. Hees and Edith are past middle-aged. Life seems to have passed them by and they both wished they had made different choices. Edith longs to be noticed and to feel as if she matters. Mr. Hees wishes he wasn't socially awkward. He wishes that he wasn't carrying a shameful secret. Mr. Hees leaves the town he lived in with his mother, full of shame and arrives in a little town one state over. Edith does something she has never done....waves her scarf at him and offers him a place to stay. As they become each other's person, secrets spill out. A beautiful story about believing in your man. A hopeful story about two people starting life anew. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complementary digital ARC. This review is my own words and thoughts.
June 2, 2025
The Evening Shades is a quiet yet powerful story of dignity and picking up the pieces of a shattered life. Martin's prose is spare and beautiful; he captures the settings and people of American Midwest in a way that is absolutely true. It is a delight for the reader to walk among them. The story of unlikely love between Henry Dees and Edith Green, both outcasts, is sweet but not saccharine, simple and lovely in a way that reminds of Kent Haruf. The major knock against The Evening Shades is that it doesn't quite reach the heights or create a the same tension of its superlative predecessor, The Bright Forever. There are also some minor issues with pacing; once the plot 'happens,' it happens quickly. Anyone seeking a literary page-turner, though, will find a lot to like in The Evening Shades.
August 17, 2025
This book is technically a sequel to the Pulitzer nominated The Bright Forever-which I did not read. The novel is about the aftermath of the murder of a young girl in a midwestern town and the price those involved must pay. It’s a heartwarming love story of two aging very lonely people. What I loved most about the book is the lack of any black and white characters-all adults here walk a tightrope between good and evil. Henry (the main character) tells the reader: “But what I want you to know is that I didn’t come to tell my story in order to ask you to forgive me, but only to understand the twisted heart of a man who all his life had lived outside the circle of light that most of you enjoy….I’ve always wanted to join you because I was a man, odd as I was and clumsy as I was, who’s always believed in love.” Would make a great book choice!
May 5, 2025
Excellent writing and deep character develop. Multiple points of view narration from the towns as “we,” 3rd person, and multiple first persons. Sequel to Pulitzer finalist The Bright Forever. Okay as a stand alone if you don’t care about character development since you get the backstory. However, you really need to read the first one to understand the characters in this sequel. Martin absolutely nails the culture of small town, middle west, early 70s – the type of place where I grew up - only smaller and more so. Several crimes occur. And boundary crossings. In the first book, after a long set up, there’s a crime against a litle girl. Each person in the community reflects on what they might have done or not done that could have changed the outcome the child’s story.
July 25, 2025
Lee Martin has an unassuming, quiet way with words. He writes like he is telling you a story on the front porch in the cooling evening hours of summer. But by the end of his telling, your heart is breaking and something in your soul has shifted. I love that genius in a writer. I admire that calm belief in the whisper of words by a writer who refuses to shout. Sneaky brilliant bastards—and I mean that in the bestest way! I envy this talent in great writers. Lee Martin is one of those writers, and The Evening Shades, a sequel to The Bright Forever, will quietly break your heart and shift something deep within your soul. It is a story about loneliness, the sometimes devastating consequences of our human failings, and the truth that love may come late and change everything.
March 23, 2025
A chance encounter at an Illinois gas station changes the lives of two lonely people. Edith and Henry both have secrets which slowly come out over time the course of the novel. Henry is bearing guilt over the death of Katie, a young girl and frankly his behavior to her was, well, inappropriate. Edith's concerns are less dramatic and dreadful but no less important to her. No spoilers but know that your view of each of them will change as they talk to one another. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A thought provoking read.
April 17, 2025
As a former teacher who worked with small children, I couldn’t get into this book and, ultimately, put it down early. All in all, while the author wanted wanted his readers to view the protagonist, Henry Dees, as a lonely and caring bachelor, I found his behavior creepy. For that matter, an impulsive kiss and stealing a lock of the young girl’s hair would have definitely raises red flags in nearly any school or community. While Dees may have turned out to be nothing more than an odd and likeable fellow, his actions made me cringe.
October 16, 2024
This poignant and moving novel centers around two lonely single middle-aged people who meet by chance on a windy day at a gas station in a small midwestern town, in 1972.
Each has a secret. Hers is a lie she chose to use to ingratiate herself with her community. His is a much deeper and troubling secret.
Does love conquer all?
Thanks to Edelweiss for providing me with a digital ARC of this book.
Each has a secret. Hers is a lie she chose to use to ingratiate herself with her community. His is a much deeper and troubling secret.
Does love conquer all?
Thanks to Edelweiss for providing me with a digital ARC of this book.
July 7, 2025
Continuation of the Bright Forever. Mr. Dee’s leaves Tower Hill, IN and ends up in Mt. Gilead, IL. He quickly finds a room to rent so he stays in Mt. Gilead. He later finds love, a devoted partner and starts teaching. Of course it all falls apart when a service station owner & his mechanic in Mt. Gilead deliver a car to Tower Hill. Ray Wright’s murder is discovered and the murderer identified.
April 18, 2025
Henry is an elementary school math teacher in a small town in the Midwest. When one of his students is murdered and he could have saved her, he skips town. Once across the border, he meets a woman and falls in love, but the past will catch up to him. This novel kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning!
July 7, 2025
I would have liked to have given 3 1/2 stars for this book. It's a sweet tale of a lonely man and woman who find each other and develop a relationship, despite the whispers of the small town folks about them. However, Mr. Dees has a big secret and getting to the heart of it proves to be a test of their new found love.
July 15, 2025
The character development in this book is exceptional, and the way they are introduced in the plot is very effective. The two small Midwestern towns are so well-drawn that they almost become characters.
The central puzzle of the murder of a little girl is devastating, but the reader is compelled to keep reading to find out what really happened.
Excellent read.
The central puzzle of the murder of a little girl is devastating, but the reader is compelled to keep reading to find out what really happened.
Excellent read.
April 18, 2025
mystery and exercise in point of view
Alternating points of view are always interesting as characters bring their own story to the plot. Main characters are sweetly odd. Except when they’re creepy.
Alternating points of view are always interesting as characters bring their own story to the plot. Main characters are sweetly odd. Except when they’re creepy.
April 5, 2025
A worthy sequel to The Bright Forever; one of my favorite books of all time!
April 22, 2025
Good read with maybe a bit too much repetition.
May 8, 2025
Very poignant. Believable characters. Enjoyed it.
May 14, 2025
I absolutely loved The Evening Shades. Lee Martin writes a compelling story of love, murder, and mystery. I was sad when I finished this book. I will miss it.
May 17, 2025
4.5 stars
This was a great sequel! I’m so glad Lee wrote it.
This was a great sequel! I’m so glad Lee wrote it.
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