Don’t miss THE GIRL FROM HOME. Adam Mitzner is a marvelous storyteller in the way that real storytellers were back in the day. His fourth and latest novel reminds me of one of the classic works of European literature by an iconic author. I’m not going to tell you who the writer or what the book is; it will give away the ending.

The narrative is told in the first person present, slipping back and forth in time from the book’s present --- December, January and beyond --- to the story’s past, beginning in March and looking forward. After a brief, enigmatic preamble, we meet Jonathan Caine in the past, a hotshot currency trader whose motto and motive, repeated throughout the book, is “I want what I want.” Jonathan has it all --- a penthouse condominium with a view in New York, a trophy wife named Natasha some 13 years his junior, and a set of hot wheels --- but he wants more. He has nerves of steel and isn’t afraid to bend the rules of his occupation to their stress point and beyond.

"THE GIRL FROM HOME crosses several thriller genres --- financial, courtroom, crime and romantic --- yet in some ways is unclassifiable.... a terrific story that’s wonderfully told."

When the perspective shifts to the story’s present, things have changed. It’s December, and Jonathan --- without the mysteriously absent Natasha --- is back in his hometown of East Carlisle, New Jersey, for his 25th high school class reunion. He obviously has experienced a fall from grace of some sort. He still has his hot wheels but is living in the old family house, vacated since his father’s illness now requires managed care, and he doesn’t seem to be doing much in the way of currency trading or anything else. The one bright spot in Jonathan’s life comes at the class reunion, when he finds himself talking to Jacqueline Williams, the prettiest girl in class back in the day. Jackie found herself in a storybook life when she married the high school quarterback, but the storybook has turned out to be a horror novel, with her husband now more apt to throw fists rather than touchdowns.

Jackie and Jonathan never spoke in high school --- he wasn’t even on her radar screen --- but there is instant attraction between them at the reunion, which leads to much, much more. Jonathan, we soon learn, doesn’t need any more problems, yet he has never been happier than to be involved with this married woman. Then, a sudden and shocking occurrence takes place that has the potential to change their lives forever...but not in any way that either of them anticipates. Their feelings for each other will be put to the test, and quickly, even as their respective futures hang in the balance. The question that each must answer is this: How far can you trust someone else? The answer is revealed by the end of the novel.

THE GIRL FROM HOME crosses several thriller genres --- financial, courtroom, crime and romantic --- yet in some ways is unclassifiable. You won’t mistake it for great literature, and that’s just fine; not everything has to be. What it is, though, is a terrific story that’s wonderfully told.