Clockwise from top-left: Muhammad Zakariya Alam, Brendan Wallace, Steven LeClair.

Northern Light Inland Hospital has announced three new specialists to the staff in Waterville.

Muhammad Zakariya Alam, MD, joins Northern Light Neurology; nurse practitioner Steven LeClair, AGACNP-BC, is now part of Northern Light Gastro­enterology; and Brendan Wallace, MD, joins Northern Light Urology. All are welcoming referrals. Their offices are located in the Medical Arts Building, attached to Inland Hospital on Kennedy Memorial Drive.

Dr. Alam is a skilled neurologist, board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neuro­logy, with an expertise in clinical neurophysiology with a particular interest in epilepsy, neuromuscular conditions, headache and post stroke care and rehabilitation. Dr. Alam shares, “I enjoy listening to and developing relationships with my patients and their families. Hearing them out and validating their concerns is important. They or their loved ones need to advocate for themselves, and I will be their partner in finding the best solutions.” Learn more about Dr. Alam by calling his office at 207-861-7050.

Steven LeClair is a board-certified Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and is also board-certified with the American Nurses Creden­tialing Center. Steven provides treatment and medical management of liver and digestive issues, hepatology, dysmotility, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Steven says, “I empathize with my patients as I have had GI issues in the past and understand how frustrating it can be. Our goal is to guide patients through the care experience. I have lived in Maine my whole life and grew up in these communities; these patients are my community members, and we must look out for each other.” Contact Steven’s office for more information at 207-861-7874.

Dr. Wallace is a urologist, board-certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and is board-eligible by the American Board of Urology. Dr. Wallace specializes in the medical and surgical management of kidney stones using minimally invasive surgery. He provides urete­roscopy, transurethral resection of prostate, transurethral resection of bladder tumor, prostate needle biopsy, circumcision, hydrocelectomy. “Working with my patients on shared decision making ensures patients are involved and engaged in creating individualized care plans. I also like my patients to be well educated so they have a better understanding of what to expect with treatment and with their diagnosis.” For more information about Dr. Wallace’s services, reach out to 207-861-7874.

Contact your primary care provider for a referral. For more information, please visit northernlighthealth.org/Inland.

by Jeanne Marquis

Michelle Shores

When you discover the compelling combination of a haunting mystery, unexpected plot twists and romantic conflict, you know this is a story that needs to be written. That was exactly what author Michelle E. Shores, of Waterville, thought when she stumbled across the Nelly Butler ghost hauntings of Franklin, Maine. This spark of an idea grew into the novel, The Gathering Room – A Tale of Nelly Butler.

Shores has had a lifelong love of history, genealogy and was already a nonfiction author of historical records, so a typical evening for Shores would be to pursue historical records. On Halloween night of 2015, Shores came across The Nelly Butler Hauntings: A Documentary History edited by Marcus LiBrizzi and Dennis Boyd. She became obsessed with this legend. It was a six-year long obsession that took her through the process of researching and writing a story, which she said at some points seemed to mysteriously write itself.

The Gathering Room is based on real people – Nelly Butler, George Butler, Lydia Blaisdell and Reverend Abraham Cummings – living in the late 1700s in an early port town of coastal Maine. Author Shores found actual written testimonies of the appearances of the ghost of Nelly and skillfully used these accounts as the foundation for her novel. She developed other fictional characters based on her research of her own genealogy and family portraits from the time period.

Shores’ accuracy for historical details and knowledge of life in early New England came from her two earlier nonfiction books, Vital Records of Bangor, Maine, Volume 1 and 2. Both of these works are part of the collection of the National Library of Congress.

As Shores wove the plot to fill the gaps left by historical records, she drew from her own imagination and detailed research of the customs of the times. Shores explains, “I knew that I needed to write a wedding scene for George and Nelly, and I started researching 18th century, 19th century wedding customs. I came upon the custom of putting the little ring in the posset to find out who the next bride was going to be, whereas we throw the bouquet. They created this custard-like alcoholic drink called posset, and they would put a little ring in it. Whoever found the ring would be the next one to get married.”

Shores tells people the book wrote itself. The ring, a theme running through the book, is one example of why she feels this to be true. She told of another incident of how an idea came to her more mysteriously. Shores was working on her book while on vacation with her husband in Jamaica and was typing along rapidly because the words were flowing. She looked over the text and saw the phrase “sardonic smile.” She didn’t remember ever using that word before and wasn’t quite sure what the word precisely meant. She had her husband, who was sitting on the beach next to her look it up on his tablet. Sardonic was the exact adjective she needed for this description.

Shores has begun to hear from fans of her book who tell her the book is a gripping story that’s hard to tear themselves away. Shore remarked, “I had one woman who went out on her deck to start reading, and read until it got dark, realizing she was already on page 142.”

Another reader purchased the book while camping in Bar Harbor, and she realized how close she was to Franklin. She drove over there and located George Butler’s gravestone. She took a photo of The Gathering Room book next to George’s gravestone and posted it on the book’s Facebook page. Shores said, “My book cover is the exact same color as his gravestone. How weird? And I did not do that on purpose. I did not know. I had not even seen George’s gravestone.” Perhaps, this was another aspect of the book that was mysteriously meant to be? Readers will have to judge that for themselves.

The Gathering Room – A Tale of Nelly Butler offers all the elements of an intriguing winter read and a very welcomed holiday gift. This ghostly legend, which once divided a small town on the coast of Maine 200 years ago, comes to life through the writing of Michelle E. Shores. The Gathering Room is available for purchase at www.mshoreswriter.com.

by Roy E. Perry

Set in Waterville, Maine, Lucy’s in the Neighborhood, by David M. Carew, is an intriguing and stellar whodunit—a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Miss Lucy Bouchier is the owner and proprietor of Lucy’s in the Neighborhood, a popular corner market, in Waterville. The corner market is near the Two-Cent Bridge, and there Lucy specializes in serving up tasty Italian sandwiches, pizza, and whoopie pies. At age 64, Lucy is the star of the show. Specializing in her own zany brand of humor and with a loving heart as big as the State of Maine, she passes the downtime in her store by sharing stories from her past with her best friend and coworker, Jasmine. One day Lucy launches into the true story of a horrendous crime from 1972.

The story centers around the assault of a pretty teenager, 17-year-old Katherine Ambers, and her death two weeks after the assault. Investigating the case is Detective Ed O’Shaughnessy. Before her death, the only clue that Katherine is able to give O’Shaughnessy is that the assailant kept saying “animal” and “cracker” or “animal cracker.”

O’Shaughnessy has two “quasi”-suspects or “persons of interest” who may have committed the crime: a white racist named O’Casey (a supporter of George Wallace for President) and an alcoholic Black man named Curtis Jackson, the father of Mo (“Slo-Mo”) Jackson, a great friend of William Brady, a fellow teenager and Lucy’s boyfriend. The most obvious suspect is O’Casey, but why is Curtis Jackson so eager to “get the heck out of Dodge”—that is, leave Waterville—before Mo’s school term is over?

Detective O’Shaughnessy is indefatigable in his pursuit of the murderer, but time passes and the case becomes cold. But then Mr. Carew adroitly employs a literary device known as deus ex machina, which provides the identity of the criminal. But still: Will there ever be justice for Katherine Ambers?

Lucy’s in the Neighborhood is a tantalizing work of art and a fascinating study of the interaction of colorful characters. Featuring superb dialogue, it is an engaging, entertaining, intelligent look at the human condition. Lucy’s in the Neighborhood may be ordered online at Maine Authors Publishing or Amazon.

Roy E. Perry wrote book reviews for The Tennessean and Nashville Banner for more than 30 years.