The crazy and very much alive first wife, the scheming servants, the death by fire, the ostentatious wannabe next wife, the sweetly innocent child, private school teacher and brooding, distracted man of the house all help to make up the similarities between C. Paul Andersen's Final Act and the classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
A couple of the few differences? Jane Eyre takes place in 19th century England, while Final Act takes place in 1976 Pasadena, California, and the religion weaved through the story line in Final Act is the LDS faith as opposed to a more generic Christianity referenced in Jane Eyre.
I've read LDS fiction before, and I even like some of it. Chris Heimerdinger, Gerald Lund and James Farrell have written stories that I will read over and over again. On the other hand, I've read novels written by LDS authors in which the characters are LDS in name, but only for the sake of culture or lifestyle depiction. In Final Act, that is refreshingly not the case. Wendy Wood, the private school teacher hired to teach 8-year-old Paul Horstman is a stalwart member, who prays hard and often, loves things that are holy, and thinks deeply about spiritual things.
The story, as I said, could easily be described as a modern-day Jane Eyre, however, sadly, the writing style and dialogue could never compare. I suppose a more modern and easy style has its niche, but I very much prefer the witty and thought-provoking language of Jane Eyre. Still, Final Act has been a very enjoyable read; one which I would recommend to almost anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
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