Caleb Mason's 'Thickafog' with Bob Keyes

Crime and Punishment meets Demon Copperhead in this psychological mystery set on a remote Maine island, from the glorious days of summer to the harsh storms of winter.

Thickafog draws upon the best elements of the mystery and the psychological novel in presenting a spellbinding story set on a remote Maine island with many colorful characters.

Narrator Jon Davis becomes the lead suspect in the M**der of his father Bobby, who is found dead at the bottom of a cliff near Jon’s house. Bobby had moved in with his son nine months ago, after getting kicked out of assisted living in Florida, apparently for making unwelcome advances to a wealthy lady.

Jon, a carpenter, is battling alcoholism and is a loner whose life becomes complicated when his smooth father pursues Ingrid Backlund, the “Island Queen,” who suffers from early onset dementia. Ingrid’s drug dealer son Kevin distrusts this newcomer “from away” and blames Jon for bringing Bobby into the community, fearing his father is angling for his inheritance. Jon struggles to understand and reconcile with his father, as their time together reopens emotional wounds.

The island itself becomes a character, with multi-generational lobstermen and newly arrived summer people living together, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes uneasily, in a place as harsh in winter as it is glorious in summer.

Exploring themes of fate and self-determination, Thickafog takes readers on a wild ride that lingers long after the last page is turned and the fog finally lifts.

Inspired by the beauty of Vinalhaven island and the people who live there.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caleb Mason is the author of The Isles of Shoals Remembered: A Legacy from America’s First Artists and Musicians Colony (1992), about which Allen Lacy of The New York Times wrote: “Provides a fascinating look at an important time period in the American arts.” Caleb has authored four previous novels under the pen name Don Trowden: Normal Family (2012); No One Ran to the Altar (2016); All the Lies We Live (2019), and Young Again (2022), co-authored with Valerie McKee. Caleb welcomes reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, as well as constructive comments on his social media outlets, where he is mostly to be found under the pen name Don Trowden.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Bob Keyes, editorial director at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and chair of the Maine Arts Commission, is a nationally recognized writer and storyteller with specialties in American visual arts, popular music, and the contemporary culture of New England. Born and raised near Boston, he spent nearly 20 years writing about arts and culture for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram before joining Colby in 2022. Prior to that, he wrote for newspapers in South Dakota, Connecticut, and Georgia.

In September 2021, Boston-based Godine published The Isolation Artist: Scandal, Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana, Keyes’s book about the suspicious death of the American artist and a series of lawsuits alleging fraud and abuse. In May 2022, Maine Gov. Janet Mills appointed him to a three-year term on the Maine Arts Commission and elevated him to commission chair in 2024.

Keyes, a graduate of the University of Georgia, has presented two papers about Bob Dylan at the World of Bob Dylan symposia in Tulsa, Okla., in 2019 and in 2023. In 2017, he won the Rabkin Prize for Visual Arts Journalism, awarded to leading arts writers across the country. The Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance recognized him with its Distinguished Achievement Award in 2014, and he was part of the inaugural class of the NEA’s Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater in 2004.

He lives in Waterville.

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

Mechanics’ Hall is located at 519 Congress Street. Our main entrance is between Loquat Shop and the Art Mart. The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by .

Parking is available at the , which has entrances on Casco and Brown Street, with a rate of $5 per hour. Metered street parking is available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and other nearby streets. Free hourly street parking is available between Parris and Alder Street.

ACCESSIBILITY

To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step or use a . There is a wheelchair-accessible elevator to the third-floor ballroom.

If you have a particular accessibility question or request don't hesitate to get in touch with us at or 207-773-8396

Host or Publisher Mechanics' Hall (Maine)