Through the Waves a Steady Path

Description of Though the Waves a Steady Path

Reilly has nowhere to go.  Her mother is selling the house, her ex-boyfriend is painting her father’s condo, and she has been expelled from high school, just weeks before graduation.  In a moment of desperation, she remembers a goodbye letter left on her bedroom dresser five years ago by her father’s girlfriend at the time, Elaine Connor.  So Reilly drives into the city and knocks on the door of Elaine’s house.

Elaine has tried to change her life since her time with Reilly’s father.  Back then, Elaine was a detective in the Minneapolis Police Department and living a lifestyle barely different from those of the criminals she arrested, hitting bottom when her son died in an accident.  In an effort to reform her life, or maybe as an act of penance, Elaine quit the police force and moved back to the neighborhood of her youth, two houses down from her contentious mother.  She now works in the campus security office of a large university.

Although alarmed by Reilly’s sudden appearance, Elaine takes her in, just as she did Owen and Nathan – two ex-cons living across the street in a partially renovated house Elaine bought specifically for that purpose.  Part of Elaine’s rehabilitation, or penance, involves trying to help convicts she mistreated while on the police force.  So far, only Owen and Nathan have accepted her help.

Elaine not only gives Reilly a room in her house, she arranges an internship with the university police force, through which Reilly can earn enough credits to graduate. Several days later, Reilly accompanies Elaine to the office of a professor who committed suicide the night before.  As Elaine inventories the office, Reilly meets Tamara Soldich, a nervous female graduate student in her late-twenties.  Tamara seems particularly curious about what will happen to the contents of the professor’s desk.  Elaine later learns that Tamara was having an affair with the professor.

The disarray of the professor’s office, along with his erased email account, raise questions with Elaine.  However, the university president urges her to close the case as soon as possible, before the reputation of the troubled professor takes any more hits.  His sensitivity, along with his respectful regard for her judgment, inspires Elaine’s loyalty.  This loyalty intensifies a few days later when a bomb explodes in a classroom building and the president asks Elaine to act as his personal liaison to the investigations conducted by the FBI and the Minneapolis Police Department.

With a smoldering, cratered building at its center, the campus falls into chaos.  Police barricades disrupt traffic; rescue vehicles and heavy construction equipment clog the grounds; and medical tents and ambulances serve as constant reminders of the human toll.  With most university employees staying home, information on the possible victims of the explosion is difficult to obtain.  So Elaine asks Nathan to help.  A computer whiz and an expert in hacking, Nathan is out on parole after being convicted of breaking into a bank’s computer system.

Nathan discovers that an LGBTQ group was meeting in one of the two classrooms directly impacted by the bomb.  Thrilled that the university has uncovered this information before any of the law enforcement agencies, the president hastily convenes a press conference.  He later scoops those agencies again, after Nathan uncovers the identity of a likely suspect.  But Elaine knows the suspect and is skeptical that he conducted such a complicated bombing.

The university’s focus on the LGBTQ victims contrasts sharply with its concern for the other victims of the explosion, especially the occupants of the classroom adjacent to the one used by the LGBTQ group.  Because of the powerful blast, the bodies of those victims cannot be recovered, and the university seems resigned to the fact that the identities may never be known.  But Nathan has uncovered some clues, and those clues dovetail with certain fears of Tamara, who now believes the professor’s suicide was connected with the bombing.  This belief intensifies with a subsequent suicide that almost goes unnoticed in a city absorbed with a hate-crime bombing.  The victim is a university student, and the police explain the suicide as a result of depression over the bombing deaths of his friends.  But Nathan does not buy this story.  Nor does Elaine.

Elaine faces growing pressure to cease investigating the other bombing victims.  The president argues that it will only distract from the real truth of the bombing: a hate crime committed by religious zealots.  But the facts begin to accumulate, suggesting that the LGBTQ group may have been an attempt to divert attention from the real object of the bombing.  The other classroom hit by the bomb may have been occupied by the suicide professor’s class, called to that room by a mysterious substitute teacher; and the student who committed suicide may have been the only member of that class not present at the time of the explosion.  The woman seen with both the professor and the student on the nights of their deaths worked for a multinational corporation that is a major donor to the university and the employer of a large group of international students, all from the same country, and all appearing on a list of missing students after the bombing.

Elaine focuses on these students, discovering that although they have not attended class in years, they have been enrolled and paying tuition the entire time.  Eventually, and despite growing opposition from the university president and MPD, Elaine discovers connections between the university, the corporation, the missing international students, the alleged suicides, and a smuggling scheme involving the importation of prohibited materials.  The final piece of the puzzle is revealed when Elaine learns of the president’s role in the conspiracy.

Reviews for Through the Waves a Steady Path

The character development in this book was top notch.  Elaine and Reilly each are going through personal conflicts, and it was interesting to see their characters develop throughout the entire story of conflict, turmoil, and tough relationships.
-Midwest Book Awards

Through The Waves a Steady Path by Patrick M. Garry is an interesting novel. Conspiracies, espionage, friendship, manipulation, sacrifice, and loyalty were expressed in the book. The characters were remarkable, especially Reilly, Elaine, Milo, and Nathan. They were a great team. There was a lot of self-reflection on Elaine’s part, offering poignant questions to the reader. Why do we do good deeds for others? Is it out of pure altruism, self-interest/having the recipients in our debt, or both? That’s a question we should always ask ourselves. I loved the plot and storyline, as they were unique and had depth. Patrick employed an attention-grabbing method of writing that took me from past to present and back without losing me. I enjoyed reading this novel, thanks to a great story, dynamic characters, and flawless editing.
-Readers’ Favorite 5 Star Review

It has been a while since I have read a book with such strong character development. On the surface, Elaine appears to be a former cop turned campus security and Reilly appears to be that typical semi-annoying 18-year-old kid who is naïve to the world. But as the story develops, readers learn that there are several layers to both characters. Some of the layers cause other minor characters to struggle in figuring out who and why Elaine does what she does and how she seems to cope with all of it.

Overall, “Through the Waves a Steady Path” is great and a quicker read than what it might initially appear. The pace is steady and there is enough mystery to keep readers turning the page.
– Reader Views 5 Star Review

This is a compelling mystery that combines campus police officer Elaine with her “assistant” Reilly as they try to solve a campus bombing.  An interesting twist is that Reilly is the daughter of Elaine’s ex-boyfriend.  The interactions and dynamic between the women and the ex-con who assists them makes for an interesting tale.  Trying to solve this crime outside, and unwanted by, local police channels bring all the right pressures for an emotionally compelling story
–Benjamin Franklin Awards

Through the Waves A Steady Path by Patrick M. Garry is a book that follows two people with a difficult life trying to make amends and create spaces for healing and growth. However, events within their lives continue to bring back the grief that they are trying to leave behind. As Elaine manages the security for a leading university in the area, she has to deal with a crime scene where a professor dies of suicide. Soon after, a bomb blast rips through the university, and once again, Elaine is pushed back, coming face to face with her painful past.

Patrick M. Garry merges the stories of two wounded souls in a skillful manner, creating complex relationships and allowing readers strong glimpses of their broken hearts. The inner worlds of the characters are beautifully written and their humanity shines through the story with unusual brilliance. The characters evoke a sense of resilience, yet they are genuinely flawed. Through the Waves: A Steady Path  is a great example of the author’s ability to combine sharp commentaries, a compelling narrative voice, and dazzling prose to create a page-turner that is emotionally and psychologically rich.
-The Book Commentary

A captivating tale that’s hard to put down…

Elegant and brilliantly constructed, Garry’s utterly engrossing literary tale takes readers into the exhilarating journey of a former police officer caught into an intricate past conflict. The former Minneapolis police officer Elaine Connor has left the major crime-fighting life behind and is content working as a college campus cop while rehabilitating ex-cons. When eighteen-year-old Reilly Boschardt, daughter of Elaine’s ex-boyfriend, lands on Elaine’s door, the latter has no idea how to deal with the situation. When a bomb blast occurs at the university, Elaine finds herself face to face with her tortured past. Garry’s prose is assured as he captures his characters’ inner turmoil and the underlying restlessness.  He not only delves into their individual traumas but also the questions of family ties, relationship woes, bad parenting, young adult drama, regret, redemption, and how healing may take a lifetime of struggle and introspection. The shifts and complexities that happen in Elaine’s life are rife with ups and downs and make more than a mere backdrop of other people’s tortured stories. Fans of literary fiction won’t want to miss this one.
-The Prairies Book Review

The book is very well done, exemplary in its voice and writing style.  Garry is a talented writer who knows how to start a scene and carry dialogue.  The characters are well developed, and the writing expertly crafted.  The book was a pleasure to read.

-Writers Digest Book Awards

Through the Waves A Steady Path  is a satisfying drama where rebellious youth Reilly looks for purpose and guidance with Elaine, her father’s ex-girlfriend. The interactions and dynamic between the two women along with the continued paths they walk make for an emotionally complex journey from start to finish.
-Indie Reader

Literary Awards

Midwest Independent Publishers Book Award

Book Excellence Award

National Indie Excellence Book Award

Somerset Literary Fiction Award

2021 Purple Dragonfly Book Award

CIBA Mystery & Mayhem Book Award

Colorado Independent Publisher Book Award, Silver Award

2021 Shelf Unbound Book Award