- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Orion (1 July 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 075284802X
- ISBN-13: 978-0752848020
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 11 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 497,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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REVIEWSWoman & Home - August issueVerdict - summer issue FEATURESCrimeTime - author article INTERNET EVENTS:Ottakar's Norwich - Nicked in Norwich 6thJuneEast Grinstead Lit Festival - 7th JuneCrimeScene at NFT - JulyHeffer's Ca
Product Description
A quiet Suffolk village, 1944. Fourteen-year-old Gerald Haxton is a lonely boy who regards his still-born twin brother Jack as his only real friend. His mother, a famous children's writer, guards Jack's memory jealously, and Gerald, disturbed and unpopular, has no hope of ever measuring up to him. Playing in the woods near his home, Gerald discovers the body of his elder sister buried in a shallow grave. She has been beaten to death with a wooden stake and her boyfriend, a young GI, is hanged for the crime. London, 1995. As the country prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of VE Day, Gerald, who remains a loner, is nearing retirement. Obsessed by routine, he still talks to his dead brother, Jack. Surrounded by nostalgic artefacts at the TV prop-hire company where he works, he is constantly reminded of the past, and with it, his sister Vera's death. Hoping to escape his lonely existence, he takes to following Mel, the twelve-year-old daughter of a colleague. A few days later Mel, who bears a striking resemblance to Vera, disappears...
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This was my first Laura Wilson novel but I intend to read her previous work as soon as I can. This is quite a slim book and therefore does not take long to read. However, I read it in two sittings because I really wanted to read on. The technique of writing each chapter from a different character's point of view, and some of these were flash backs too, kept my interest. Each character was well drawn and easy to imagine, and the style of them 'talking' to the reader made for a very comfortable read. The story or plot is quite simple once you have read it but the limited information about Vera's murder back in the 1940's keeps one intrigued. The atmosphere of war time is evoked well and the Enid Blyton type literature written by Gerald's mother is a wonderful contrast to the lonely, loveless life of Gerald as a boy. The adult Gerald is easy to imagine too. Sadly we probably have all known a Gerald at some time and have 'pigeon-holed' their character because they are misfits. The reaction of the police and ordinary people to him as a pervert is uncomfortably understandable and this is a timely message perhaps of how easy it is to judge people wrongly. But then, as a mother of a 16 year old daughter, I totally identified with Jo when Mel went missing. The way I am writing about this shows me that it was definitely an interesting weekend/holiday read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Of all the various crime novels concerning paedophilia, or its potential, or the social repercussions on strange and lonely men of the anti-paedophile witch-hunts, this is by far the best. Laura Wilson writes multiple first-person thrillers of the best sort - the language is subtle and elegant and the author's ability to get under the skin of each character to create an entirely authentic voice in each case, is astonishing. As with all of her novels, the plot has a simple basis (boy finds body of dead sister) and personal ramifications for the characters which are not simple at all. The overall result is enormously satisfying - one of this year's 'must reads'.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gerald's mother was a famous children's novelist who seems incapable of loving her own children. His sister was murdered during the second World War. As an adult heading towards old age, Gerald finds the demons from his past threaten the life he has painstakingly made for himself.
Excellent psychological thriller. Various characters take turns narrating various events and Wilson handles this well, my only gripe being the voice of the single mother. Something about it just didn't ring true. She sounded rather like you would imagine Jane Horrocks would if she was reading this for radio. Too affected. Otherwise Wilson tells a sad story of how innocent lives are ruined by selfishness and fantasy. Gerald himself is an interesting character, initially difficult to like, his behaviour does little to endear him to the reader. As the past is revealed his personality is easier to understand and empathise with. Wilson has a well-thought, tightly constructed plot, perhaps sometimes it feels a little too calculated.
A good read which has strong characters and an ending which quietly moves you.
Excellent psychological thriller. Various characters take turns narrating various events and Wilson handles this well, my only gripe being the voice of the single mother. Something about it just didn't ring true. She sounded rather like you would imagine Jane Horrocks would if she was reading this for radio. Too affected. Otherwise Wilson tells a sad story of how innocent lives are ruined by selfishness and fantasy. Gerald himself is an interesting character, initially difficult to like, his behaviour does little to endear him to the reader. As the past is revealed his personality is easier to understand and empathise with. Wilson has a well-thought, tightly constructed plot, perhaps sometimes it feels a little too calculated.
A good read which has strong characters and an ending which quietly moves you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Damaged childhood
As a child, Gerald stumbles across the body of his murdered sister, Vera, buried in a wood. Brought up by an Enid Blyton type mother/author who neglects her own child while... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Clive A. H. Still
Straight up. I kid you not, this book is a little gem
I'd never heard of Laura Wilson before reading the blurb and the opening page of this book a month ago. The story is described in the book summary. Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2009 by Lewis Duckworth
Dreadful
This is an utter disappointment. I've read several other of Laura Wilson's novels and thoroughly enjoyed each, particulary the originality of the plotlines and the depth... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2006 by SuzieB
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