However Long the Day

By: Jamie Steinberg

However Long the Day plays tribute to the age-old concept of “duck soup” – a/k/a switching places. Wealthy and petulant Frederick Philips finds a doppelganger in ice delivery man and new Irish arrival Niall Donovan. Not wanting to suffer through another one of his father’s dreaded lectures, Frederick offers Niall a ton of cash in order to swap places for the night. Frederick warns him to take the tirade without speaking (to avoid having to explain the Irish accent) and then simply wait for his mother to secretly drop off dinner before his parents head out for the night. Niall gets to sleep in a comfy bed and Frederick can run the streets for some evening “errands.” Sounds simple, right? Well, a flaw in the plan quickly causes this easy assignment to quickly go awry. However Long the Day intrigues the reader to see if Philips and Donovan can pull one over but hits a snag late in the storyline when too much melee muddles the adventures.

Frederick has convinced Niall that switching places will not be a big deal as they are so close in appearance that no one will notice – as long as Niall keeps his Irish brogue to himself. It would also be financially beneficial as Niall is a new arrival in New York City (it’s prohibition era). We find Niall is living with his Uncle Paddy and just trying to survive, so clearly the cash would come in handy. Frederick benefits from the deal because he gets to snag a night out on the town – yet not confessing what the evening truly has in store for him. Sounds like a win-win situation. The easy exchange gets messy though when Frederick’s bad behavior catches up with him (or Niall in this case) and neighbor/nemesis Mrs. Barneby looks to take revenge for maiming her cat. This sets off a chain of reaction that, astoundingly, only takes place in one night.

That is where author Justin Reed’s intriguing storyline seems to implode. Too many players enter the picture and things get muddled. Readers find it difficult to determine why Frederick’s housekeeper Lucille cares about Barneby’s shady dealings. Niall’s lady friend Ms. Flora Wright finds her way into the mix, as does Frederick’s female companion Ida Livingston. A local gang that Frederick has had some shady dealings with intertwine themselves in the tale, too. Plus, late in the tale a major fight breaks out and it is a quite hard to follow who has the guns and who has the prizes that Niall and Frederick are both looking for.

I must admit, However Long the Day is a very intriguing read. You’ll find Niall to be quite likeable and certainly feel sorry he has found himself in such a predicament. Believe it or not, by the end of the book you will feel sorry for Frederick as well. Sure, there are some muddled up moments, but readers will want to see the story through until the end to find out if Niall and Frederick live to see another day.