'Oh yes,' he said.'Yes,' he said.'Then I can tell you.'
Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door. Occasionally, fond memories return, of his family, his beloved wife June and their two children.
But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, one which Tom never quite came to terms with, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past.
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Sometime in the sixties old Mr Tomelty had put up an incongruous lean-to addition to his Victorian castle.- CHAPTER ONE
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(Faber & Faber, 2 March 2023, e-book, 336 pages, #ARC from the publisher via NetGalley)
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I really enjoyed Old God's Time. It's not the book I expected. From the description I thought it would be a sort of literary crime novel. It's something quite different. The references to the unsolved case simply serve as a backdrop for this powerful story about memories, life, loss and how people cope in different ways. The visit from the colleagues cause Tom to get lost in the past as his memories and emotions start to intrude more and more. The book as a surreal, dream-like quality which is very effective so you never know if the events are memories or fabrications of a sad, lonely old man. This is a powerful read.
