- Hardcover: 184 pages
- Publisher: Collins Crime; First Edition edition (21 Jan 1985)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0002319713
- ISBN-13: 978-0002319713
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,247,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fascinating story of a search for identity and all the problems it can bring with it. Little Simon, aged about five when the novel begins, arrives in the West of England with a trainload of evacuees. As the other children are gradually ticked off the list and sent to their respective homes, it becomes clear that Simon is unaccountably not listed anywhere. Nobody knows where he came from or where he is supposed to go. Luckily a good and kind-hearted couple take him in, and soon he is happily settled in the village. And there, no-one ever having come along to claim him, he remains until he is old enough to go off to university. He has never been particularly curious about his origins, of which he seems to have no memory, though he was prone to nightmares at first which seemed to involve some kind of violence. One day, though, walking through Paddington in London, he has a sudden memory of the area and feels sure he must once have lived there. And so begins an investigation which soon turns into an obsession, as he tracks down what he knows must be his family and tries, without much success, to discover why he ended up on that train.
The novel moves seamlessly forward through time from 1941 to the early 1980s, each era being wonderfully and vividly evoked. Particularly impressive is the depiction of the British fascist movements before and after the war, to which Simon discovers his supposed father had belonged. From Mosley's Blackshirts in the 1930s to the sad, swaggering members of a 1970s British Citizens Army, they are brought to life in a most convincing and depressing way.
But essentially, of course, this is Simon's story, and a fascinating one it is, as he tramps the streets and searches through local newspapers for indications of who he might be. The final truth is not revealed until almost the end, though there are plenty of red herrings along the way. As you can see, this is not a murder mystery, though there is an unexplained death at the heart of it. I enjoyed it tremendously and recommend it highly.
The novel moves seamlessly forward through time from 1941 to the early 1980s, each era being wonderfully and vividly evoked. Particularly impressive is the depiction of the British fascist movements before and after the war, to which Simon discovers his supposed father had belonged. From Mosley's Blackshirts in the 1930s to the sad, swaggering members of a 1970s British Citizens Army, they are brought to life in a most convincing and depressing way.
But essentially, of course, this is Simon's story, and a fascinating one it is, as he tramps the streets and searches through local newspapers for indications of who he might be. The final truth is not revealed until almost the end, though there are plenty of red herrings along the way. As you can see, this is not a murder mystery, though there is an unexplained death at the heart of it. I enjoyed it tremendously and recommend it highly.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Wasn't really sure what to expect with this as was only initially hooked in via the concept of tracing your family history. However it turned out to be a lovely little book full of suspense, with a few predictable but many unexpected twists. I enjoyed the style of writing and felt it was true to the period, plus interesting characters. One to read for family historians, anyone who enjoys a relatively easy going suspense, or anyone wanting to get a flavour of the period it is based in. Kept me turning the pages.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mr Barnard's novel is set in England in 1941. For reasons of security, many children from London were evacuated to new homes in the countryside during the war. One day, a group of twenty children arrives at Yeasdon Station and among them there is an unlisted Simon Thorn instead of a certain Terence Stope. After much discussing and reflecting, Simon is taken to the Cutheridge family who adopt him so that at the age of eighteen, Cutheridge becomes Simon's official last name.
Some years later, after having studied zoology at Oxford university, Simon returns to London and he is determined to find out the truth about his origins. After much painstaking research and with the help of birth announcements in newspapers and a large portion of luck, Simon focuses his attention on a Leonard Simmeter of 25 Miswell Terrace, EC1, London.
So the door to a re-discovery suddenly opens for Simon and will eventually lead him to unravel a vicious crime that had never been detected.
Some years later, after having studied zoology at Oxford university, Simon returns to London and he is determined to find out the truth about his origins. After much painstaking research and with the help of birth announcements in newspapers and a large portion of luck, Simon focuses his attention on a Leonard Simmeter of 25 Miswell Terrace, EC1, London.
So the door to a re-discovery suddenly opens for Simon and will eventually lead him to unravel a vicious crime that had never been detected.
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