The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh

Shaye Areheart Books, 2009
Review by Mayra David

This is a story that spans time, cultures, continents, even worlds. But for all that, its essence lies in the story of the Leahy family tragedy: Meave Leahy has lost her twin. It’s this tragedy that has since simultaneously driven and held her back in all aspects of her small life in Betheny, New York.

It’s been many years since Meave Leahy has been to visit her parents’ home in Castine, Maine. In fact she hasn’t been back since escaping to college, soon after losing her sister. Though we get everything from Meave’s perspective, she offers no clues to what happened to her twin nine years ago. It’s as if she doesn’t even allow herself the merest complete thought on the topic of Moira. Here, Therese Walsh creates true tension in the reader. There’s a sense, in the beginning, that the story might be beyond the details of the loss of Moira, that this may be a story about how the twin who was left behind finds a way to move on. But then slowly, and clearly against the will of Meave herself, we realize that this story is about taking a long, painful look backwards.

In fact, it’s not just about looking backwards, but almost physically reliving the past. The book’s premise is based in part on the possibility of a magical antique keris (javanese dagger) acting as a bridge not only into the depths of Meave’s repressed memories, but into the spirit world. This sudden turn in the story is softened by the introduction of the Leahy twins as already having an almost magical connection with each other. It’s a common notion that twins share intense bonds, but here it is shown as a concrete skill the sisters have developed; sensing physical and emotional pain, “seeing” each other from afar, and when necessary, “blocking” their minds from each other to gain privacy.

Still, this is where it gets a little dicey for the book. After ensconcing the reader in one genre (family drama), the story takes a turn into legends about ancient javanese weapon-making. Of course this requires that the fantastical plot bend be backed up by both historic facts and javanese legends involving dream worlds, spiritual energy, and superstition. The kind of stuff fantasy films a la Tomb Raider are made of.

Thankfully, Walsh keeps the story from becoming tacky by keeping the heart of the story where it belongs: between Meave and Moira Leahy. Their relationship is honest, touching, and painful. In short: real. In fact their complex story is so compelling, one must often fight the urge to simply read the chapters where Walsh moves the story back in time, when the girls were still together. Fantasy, mystery, historic fiction, family drama, romance. If anything, there is almost too much story here. But the book is well written, fast paced, and has enough depth to carry it all.

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