The Secret of Lost Things

The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay had great potential - it is a literary adventure after all - but, as a first novel, it stumbles a bit.

Eighteen year-old Rosemary arrives in New York from Tanzania naive and knowing no one. She finds a job at the used bookstore, The Arcade. The Arcade is full of all sorts of interesting characters - Mr. Geist, the storemanager and albino, Pearl, the presurgical transvestite, Oscar, Rosemary's reclusive crush.

Somehow, Rosemary gets involved in the mystery of a lost manuscript from Herman Melville. At times, Rosemary seems to be maturing, but often she remains unbelievably naive. I would have guessed the story was set in the 20s or maybe as recently as the 60s, but through clues, it is actually set in the 80s.

The story overall is good, it is just Rosemary's part in it that is sometimes unrealistic.