The Lost Night: A Daughter's Search for the Truth of Her Father's Murder [Mass Market Paperback]

Rachel Howard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

On June 22,1986, Stan Howard was stabbed in his bed, his ten-year-old daughter Rachel sleeping in the next room. Unable to fully process the tragedy, Rachel coped the only way she knew how by trying to pretend the murder never happened. More then fifteen years later, Rachel became engaged, and the need to confront the night of her father’s death before entering the next phase of her life grew strong. Her father’s murder remained unsolved, and many questions unanswered and unasked. In The Lost Night, Rachel shares her father’s story, and her keen investigation of memory, truth, and how a family moves on from a tragedy for which they may never find the answers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1986, when the author was 10, her father was stabbed while sleeping next to his third wife; his murder remains unsolved. After years of pretending the memories of that night haven't affected her, and about to get married and enter a new phase of life, Howard sets out to untangle what she and her family can recall of her father's life and death. This book is not an attempt at vengeance but rather a profoundly personal account of a California Central Valley childhood defined by chaotic family life. Howard's parents divorced when she was very young, and both subsequently remarried, with Howard repeatedly pulled into new versions of "family" that replaced—but never explained the demise of—the old ones. It's a testament to her strength that she was finally able to extract herself from this turmoil and make a life of her own (she now writes for the San Francisco Chronicle). Howard's desire to understand her past (particularly the murder) will leave readers sympathetic and understanding of the story's sometimes wandering nature. This is a poignant account of the lifelong effects violence and tragedy can have on an individual and a family.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Howard, an arts writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, delivers a stunning debut. Forgoing the true-crime treatment, Howard remains restrained, her focus on the broad emotional panorama of the story instead of lurid details and self-pity. In crisp, unadorned prose, she explores broken families, drugs, rural California, and the hard emotional work of remembering. The Washington Post notes a "flavor of journal-writing" to The Lost Night, but it’s a mere quibble overshadowed by the heady chorus of critical praise. "[N]o novel based on Ms. Howard’s life," concludes The Wall Street Journal, "no matter how skillfully crafted, could have been as believable as The Lost Night."

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Plume (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452287421
• ISBN-13: 978-0452287426
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,754,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful memoir, not a crime story!, October 23, 2005

By 

Suzanne Amara (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Lost Night: A Daughter's Search for the Truth of Her Father's Murder (Hardcover)

This book is much more memoir than a "true crime" or crime investigation book. It does center itself around the author's father's murder when she was 10, but from there, it goes on to tell very well how this event affected both her life and the life of her family and extended family. I got a strong feel for the parts of California she was writing about, and for her father's large family and how they dealt with his death in their own ways.

The book also examines the issue of memory---how memory is not a set-in-stone thing---how different people remember things differently, and we can feel very sure we know how something happened, and another person is very sure it happened differently.

Some might feel unsatisfied that the murder is not solved in these pages, but I was not. That was never really the point here. This is an examination of how murder affects a family, and of the time and place and people that set up the scene. The author leaves us free to form our own opinion as to what happened, and she also is amazingly free with writing about her own changes of perspective and doubts about her feelings about the past. She is a skilled writer and sounds like a strong, caring person. I thank her for this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing!, October 7, 2005

By 

J. Cooper (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lost Night: A Daughter's Search for the Truth of Her Father's Murder (Hardcover)

I couldn't agree more with Mr. Donovan's review..ditto for me. Best book I've read in a long time. I stood at the table from which I picked the book up to browse and was hooked by the third page and stood there reading for a half hour oblivious to my surroundings. There was no way I was leaving the book store without purchasing this gem of a book. I didn't know about the novel-I will most certainly keep a keen eye out for that. She's awesome. I was completely engrossed from the start! I love it when I feel that way about a book. I'm a Rachel Howard fan...no doubt about that.

You must check it out!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not To Be Missed, August 25, 2005

By 

Mike Donovan (Middle America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lost Night: A Daughter's Search for the Truth of Her Father's Murder (Hardcover)

For those who love the memoir, THE LOST NIGHT is not to be missed. After I had picked the book up I found Rachel Howard's website and saw where she was planning/writing a novel. I have already subscribed to the RSS feed of her site so I can read her postings and find out when this novel is published. Why so excited about an unwritten novel? Read this memoir - her first book - and you'll know why. It reads like fiction and kept me glued to the pages - I read it through in two nights. To recount such a painful time in her life (her father was murdered when she was 10) with such range of emotions, and Rachel's path to putting her era of tragedy behind her makes for powerful reading. I laughed, I was moved, I was kept in suspense, I marveled at the descriptions of those involved and was brought into her world with an ease that defies the fact that this is her first book. She is quite a talent. I look forward to her work in the future as much as any new author in years. This is a can't miss memoir and an easy five-star pick.