New Chicago author plans Iowa City tour stop for debut novel

Twelve years ago, artist and Chicago art professor Rebecca Keller had an idea for a book that “took me by the throat and wouldn’t let me go.”

This month, her debut novel, described as “twisty, turny, and not particularly straightforward,” is nothing like her first idea. But with a release on April 4 and a tour including an Iowa City stop, it made good on her commitment to herself: to publish a novel.

From the perspective of retired nurse Frannie Greene in her senior living apartment, readers are taken on a thrilling journey of a grandmother who still aches for accountability and justice after her granddaughter, Iris, was killed by a drunken driver.

Iris’ death nearly destroyed Frannie’s family.

After befriending new neighbor Katherine, the wife of a judge Frannie believes is implicated in her granddaughter’s death, the nearby medication cart unravels Frannie’s darkest imagination.

Set in a retirement community and written in first person with an older main character, Keller weaves the complexities of aging together with themes of justice, revenge and complicity.

Keller, 64, said readers will become endeared to Frannie with her sharp intelligence and wry observational personality.

The internationally-exhibited artist, professor, Fulbright Scholar and recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts said secondary and tertiary characters bring a vivid dimension to the plot, too. Her previous fiction stories have been nominated for a Pushcart prize.

“I wanted to write somebody who gives in to their worst impulses but somebody we still recognize as a good person, and we’re in their corner,” Keller explained.

The choice of setting and character was inspired by Keller’s own life, as she moved her mother into a retirement community. As she pondered situations in which revenge could blossom for average people, it seemed like the perfect setting — one not yet written into a novel.

“Older women in our culture are culturally invisible. They blend together in a big lump,” Keller explained. “Frannie … realizes there’s a kind of freedom in that. People widely assume that old people can’t do anything. I realized an older person might be a really good protagonist in this.”

Frannie still is sharp and in good health, but aware of her body’s limitations as she ages. She realizes that this home will likely be her last and confronts the emotional realities of that.

When the police get involved, suspicion centers around another character Frannie knows is innocent. Before long, her anxiety becomes unbearable. But when she tries to rectify the situation, she discovers more complications.

“One thing that became clear is that we are ourselves. She’s tormented by what she thinks she did,” Keller said. “Even though she stepped off the straight and narrow, she’s still herself. Having to live with that is horrible for her.”

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