Over the Falls: Author in Town

Buffalo Rising 0

Staff Review: Anne Conable, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library

Cathy Marie Buchanan's debut novel, The Day the Falls Stood Still (Hyperion Books, 2009), is what I'd call "a delicious read." It is a romance infused with a particular period in WNY history, bringing that moment to life through carefully drawn, primarily fictional characters.

Set in Niagara Falls, Ontario (Buchanan's hometown), from 1915 through 1923, narrator Bess Heath shares her journey from schoolgirl to wife and mother, set against the turbulent rise of the power barons determined to fully profit from the power of the Falls for industry, sensational daredevils shooting the rapids, and the uncertainty of World War I.

Central character Tom Cole, based on real-life riverman William "Red" Hill, possesses an uncanny sensibility to read the river--his daring rescues make him a local hero--and therefore both a threat and an asset to the power barons. Their stories, separately and ultimately together, have been crafted by Buchanan into an engaging period piece, bringing to light aspects of the industrial development of Niagara Falls as well as the arguments early on for their conservation and protection. Romance, mystery, tragedy, and the ever present Falls; it all makes for fun reading!