The alumni of an international boarding school have gathered at a campground in rural New Jersey when a scream breaks the silence of the woods. Classmates are shocked to find journalist Angie Osborne suddenly dead. The medical examiner's report isn't what anyone expects. Oddly, the death scene reminds anthropologist Duncan McCloud of a thovile, a Sri Lankan ritual he's spent years studying.
When Duncan's new employer, a pharmaceutical giant, sends him overseas under shadowy pretences, and his wife, Dr. Grace McCloud, starts to receive anonymous warnings to doubt everyone and everything, the threads of a sweeping conspiracy begin to unravel. Risking more than their own lives, Duncan and Grace embark on a treacherous journey through occult ceremonies and their own hidden pasts to discover a secret worth killing for.
In taut, precise language, Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer's debut novel The Mask Collectors tells a story about deception, the power of belief, and what is left unspoken between husbands and wives.
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[By late afternoon, all the searchers had returned to the camp pavilion]***
(Little A, 1 June 2019, 348 pages, ebook from @AmazonKindle #AmazonFirstReads)
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I really struggled to read this book this month. I read it in dribs and drabs. There was nothing wrong with it but I just couldn't seem to get lost in it. Yesterday, I'd read about 20% and vowed to finish the book. I rattled through it. There's been a lot happening this month so the book isn't to blame for my slow-ness. It I quite a slow paced book and can take a while to get into but it's well worth the effort. The book really takes off when Duncan is sent overseas. This is the moment when the book becomes terrific as things start to unravel and threads start to connect. There are many jaw-hits-the-floor moments from this point onwards. I didn't want the book to end and I wore out my kindle flicking through the pages.
