A former resident created a mini-reunion when she returned to sign copies of her mystery novel, which is set in a town based on Edgewater.
Cheryl Solimini moved out of the community when she was 12. Although she’s been in the borough a few times, her appearance at Barnes and Noble on River Road Aug. 14 was her first chance to see classmates from 40 years ago.
Her first book "Across the River" takes place in a fictional town called Undercliff. She renamed Edgewater’s streets, but the "general geography" is there, Solimini said.
"I don’t think people will mistake it for anything else," she said.
The Barnes and Nobles was packed with family and friends, many of whom hadn’t seen each other in years. Lorraine Jurek, a Holy Rosary School classmate of Solimini’s, lost touch with her but heard about the event from another old classmate.
"You have high school reunions and you recognize people, but a grammar school reunion is completely different," she said. "Now we’re talking about trying to get a real reunion together after seeing all these people."
Solimini talked about hanging out at different friends’ houses while growing up in the borough. She remembered her first grade best friend teaching her to whistle. As other people talked about their Edgewater memories, Solimini said no one ever told her where the spot to sneak into the old Palisades Amusement Park was.
"I never got to do that," she said, as others shouted out that they all did it.
A lot of her memories made it into the book. The story follows a tabloid journalist’s return to her hometown to report on a murder and winds up helping with the investigation.
"It was based on memories but it also just entertainment," she said. "I don’t believe there are any murderers are in this room."
An audience member asked if the title meant looking across the river from the New York or New Jersey side.
"Both," she said. "I wanted to work in both ways since the reporter came over from New York."
Solimini said Edgewater is such a unique community because of its location between a cliff and the Hudson River. She researched in the borough but wanted to leave some things to her imagination.
Part of the research came from Edgewater Police Detective Ed Ring, whose wife is related to Solimini.
"I just told her some basic crime scene (methods)," he said.
Ring is a lifelong resident and was looking forward to reading the book.
Solimini said Edgewater has changed a lot since she left but kept some things in her book just as they were in the 1960s.
"Years ago it seemed like 70 percent of the people were related somehow," Ring said.
Jurek also liked that Solimini portrayed the borough’s blue collar past nostalgically.
"Everyone knew everybody," she said. "It was a great town to grow up in."
