Someone to Blame

After the horrific suicide of their eighteen-year-old-son, Matt and Irene Moore move to the small coastal community of Breakers, California, in an attempt to leave the painful memories behind. As they settle into a new life, they hope a structure of routine and new surroundings will provide healing for them and their fourteen-year-old daughter, Casey. But shortly after they relocate, a young man—Billy Thurber—arrives in town, selling firewood. Thurber is defiant and abrasive, and catches the attention of many Breakers residents who distrust the newcomer. And closely following Thurber’s arrival, a string of crimes rocks the town: robberies, break-ins, and vandalism. Thurber is the obvious suspect.

Through the eyes of the local residents, we follow Thurber’s activities. A local motel owner, Jerry Hubble, has him pegged. He just knows Thurber is the culprit. A local fisherman involved with illegal drug trafficking suspects Billy of trying to blackmail him. Matt hires the young man to help him on his jobsite, then fires him when Thurber makes a lewd remark about Casey.

Matt’s daughter, on the other hand, falls for the troubled, moody boy, as he reminds her of Daniel, her dead brother. And Irene feels oddly drawn to Thurber when he brings a load of firewood to her house—an encounter that sparks a strange and volatile relationship with him.

Throughout this development, the Moores suffer from tremendous guilt and blame. As the story progresses, we learn how Daniel’s younger brother, Jesse, had died in a car accident two years earlier—with Daniel at the wheel. We see the unraveling of a family that struggled with a difficult and defiant boy, and how his parents’ treatment of him led to his suicide. We see them question their faith—in God and in themselves.

As the crimes escalate in Breakers, Thurber becomes more entwined in the Moore’s lives. Casey becomes physically involved with him, leading to her accusing Billy of trying to rape her. Matt, in his fury, hunts Thurber down and beats him up, hoping that will keep him away from his daughter. When Irene finds Billy, pummeled and nearly incoherent, she helps him, triggering in Billy a strange frantic response.

Meanwhile, things are heating up in town. Hubble’s motel is set on fire at the same time a body washes up on the beach of the Trinity River—a body identified as Thurber’s father. Rumors explode through town at the discovery—especially when it is learned “Grizz” Thurber had been shot. By the time a local family’s young son goes missing, and Billy is found at the beach with the screaming boy in his arms, the good citizens of Breakers are ready to lynch Billy Thurber, certain he is too dangerous to ignore any longer.

Sheriff Joe Huff, semi-retired and reluctantly filling in as police chief, now has his hands full in investigating all this trouble. The residents demand he arrest Thurber, but the evidence is scant. He fears the heightened anger and panic of his neighbors will lead to greater unrest, and he’s right. Hubble has secretly gathered a group of irate neighbors together to abduct and murder Thurber. When Irene finds out their plans, she hurries to save Billy before it’s too late. In the midst of chaos, Irene runs headlong into danger—a confrontation on the pier between Sheriff Huff and the group of would-be murderers. She rescues Billy but gets shot in the process, yet discovers a surge of peace in having saved this one young man, when she had been so powerless to save either of her sons.

After Billy Thurber leaves town, all the unsolved pieces to the crimes come to light. We learn that others are responsible for their commission. That Hubble set fire to his own motel to collect the insurance money. That Casey made up the charge of Billy’s rape in an attempt to get back at her father for heartless things he said about Daniel—and for Billy’s spurned attentions. Then the true story is revealed—how Billy, fed up with a drunken father’s abuse, drives off and leaves Grizz Thurber to fend for himself in his remote cabin in the woods. And how Grizz, in his deteriorated, ill condition, wanders down the mountain, only to end up being shot by pot growers when he stumbles onto their property.

After Billy leaves Breakers, he makes one last trip to his cabin, plagued by thoughts of Irene’s compassion and confused by his restless anxiety. Recent events jar the hidden memories of his childhood trauma, forcing the truth to surface after twelve years: that Billy’s mother hadn’t abandoned him, but was murdered by Grizz when she tried to escape one day with Billy. As he uncovers his mother’s grave, the burdens of his hate and bitterness fall away. Irene, unknowingly, had saved Billy in more than one way.

Because of their dealings with Billy Thurber, the Moores’ lives have been upended, but in many ways for the better. For Matt, through his interacting with Billy, realizes the mistakes he made in treating his son so harshly. And Irene understands the harm she caused in failing to speak up when needed. And even though they still blame themselves for the tragedies they’ve suffered, they experience grace and forgiveness, and through those divine gifts find a measure of peace and the hint of healing.

At the end of the book, Billy Thurber leaves his cabin looking for a new place to start over. Yet, when he drives into the Scott Valley RV Park late at night, the manager responds to Billy the same way the residents of Breakers did—with suspicion and quick judgment. For Billy, who we now understand lacks the social skills and manners society expects, will always be the target of blame.