One hot summer's day, John Cole decides to leave his life behind.
He shuts up the bookshop no one ever comes to and drives out of London. When his car breaks down and he becomes lost on an isolated road, he goes looking for help, and stumbles into the grounds of a grand but dilapidated house.
Its residents welcome him with open arms - but there's more to this strange community than meets the eye. They all know him by name, they've prepared a room for him, and claim to have been waiting for him all along.
As nights and days pass John finds himself drawn into a baffling menagerie. There is Hester, their matriarchal, controlling host; Alex and Claire, siblings full of child-like wonder and delusions; the mercurial Eve; Elijah - a faithless former preacher haunted by the Bible; and chain-smoking Walker, wreathed in smoke and hostility. Who are these people? And what do they intend for John?
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I'm writing this in a stranger's room on a broken chair at an old school desk. WEDNESDAY, 1
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(@ProfileBooks, 20 August 2014, 241 pages, ebook, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveLibs)
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I've read other books by the author and have become quite a fan. This has been on my TBR list for ages. I loved the premise. It sounded like the kind of book I could get lost in, an unusual and intriguing mystery. The book starts off with a bang and raises so many questions: Why did John feel compelled to get into his car in drive? Why did John's car break-down exactly where it does? Who owns the house? The narrative at the start is intriguing and compelling. Things just don't quite live up to this early premise. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good book, well-written, compelling and intriguing and I enjoyed the time I spent with it. The only issue I have is that when the mystery is revealed, clue by clue it's a lot simpler than I expected and the book led me to believe. I was hoping for something grander. I was a tiny bit disappointed. Still, I did enjoy the book especially the ending when things get quite dark.
