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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Does love have to be claustrophobic, greedy and possessive? This is the central question explored in Patrick Redmond's The Puppet Show. For Michael Turner, it is not until he meets Becky that he learns what it is to love and be loved. Between the children's home in the East End, where child abuse lurked in the guise of the "kindly" Mr. Cook, and the foster home where his parents kept their distance, love was in short supply. Now, though, he has found it and--as a young lawyer on the brink of a successful legal career in the city--he is happy. Happy that is until he meets Max. Max is the father figure that Michael has always craved. But can Michael let Max into his life without compromising his love for Becky? Although some sequences in The Puppet Show are unconvincing, there is a darkening sense of apprehension as Max careers between overwhelming financial generosity and violence to get what he wants--emotional control and dependence. The Puppet Show is Patrick Redmond's second novel. Like The Wishing Game before it, this psychological thriller is compelling if a little inconsequential. But if it's a page-turner you're after, then this exploration of the vulnerable, hungry side of love will be ideal. --Jane Honey
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Michael Turner is still fighting the demons of his childhood. He grew up alone; an orphan lost in a maze of institutions and foster homes, surviving on dreams of success, and of finding a place where he was wanted and could belong. Now, in his early twenties, he is at last beginning to escape his past. He has a loving fiancee and is taking the first steps in a promising legal career. And when, unexpectedly, a powerful father figure enters his life, it seems that all Michael's childhood dreams are being realised. But dreams come with a price. Michael has allowed a dangerous cuckoo to enter the nest. One who is plagued by his own demons, who can manipulate the needs and vulnerabilities of others to dreadful effect ...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Redmond really does a good job with this book. I had read his previous book 'Wishing Game' and was hoping for more of the same. This time he has delivered a book which is totally different but, like the previous one, truly gripping. His ability to gently prod the reader in to realising that these themes exist around us and at the same time allow the reader to escape to a different place is amazing. Got in trouble with the boss for reading while at my desk - 10 O'Clock in the morning. Who needs smoking when you can stay inside and read a refreshingly quality book? Simply a must read!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After the critical success of his debut novel, The Wishing Game, Patrick Redmond's major problem seemed to be how to steer clear of every new novelist's greatest fear - the Second Book Syndrome. We've all heard of it; new writer, great debut, long awaited follow-up and...disappointment! The good news is that The Puppet Show is not only as good as its predecessor, it is even better. Briefly the plot centres around Michael, a twenty something lawyer who was brought up in a children's home in East London and who has been starved of love and affection until he meets Rebecca. His life seems safe and stable - fiance, secure job etc. And then Max, his new landlord enters his life. The next four hundred or so pages are spell binding in the way Max fuses his way into Michael's and Rebecca's lives, changing all their perceptions and casting doubts over everything they hold certain. Redmond's brilliance in portraying the concurrent innocence and evil of Max is the stuff of Hitchcock and Poe; characters almost leap off the page such is the vividness with which they are drawn. The plot glides smoothly, never stumbling and always drawing the reader mesmerically from page to page. This is a book that is virtually impossible to put down. But it is not all edge-of-the-seat suspense, there are touches of humour like Michael's thoughts on the tasteless art displayed in the conference rooms of law firms - Redmond worked as a solicitor before turning to writing - and this tends to lighten the book, making the suspense all the more chilling. I cannot recall many books which have successfully combined these two elements and The Puppet Show is all the more memorable because Redmond is not writing to a formula. There is no humour in the ending however, an ending of such power and intensity that this reader prolonged the inevitable for as long as possible - this really is a book you would not want to finish too soon. If this is early Redmond I look forward to the mature version.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although I read "The Puppet Show" last year, I still consider it to be one of the best books I have read in years. Because of this, I felt compelled to write a review so I could share my enthusiasm with others.
This is the story of Michael Turner, an orphan, who later in life meets up with Max, an older man who grew up in the same orphanage as Michael. Their relationship quickly turns into a tale of obsession, control and downright evil. The book is about a myriad of relationships and how Max has an affect on each one of them.
In the style of Barbara Vine at her best, the book lulls you along with nothing happening in the traditional sense of a mystery thriller. Although I knew something was going to "happen," I was so lulled into complacency by the narrative, that when that something does happen, I was absolutely stunned.
I thought the writing was lean and that there was not a superfluous word in the book. The only fault I found was with the Epilogue. I believe the last chapter could have stood on its own and, in fact, would have made for a far more thought provoking ending to the story. For some reason, this book has not been published in the States and it looks as though it never will. I am a bit surprised at this because I have recommended this book to many people. Everyone who has read it has nothing but praise for the book and most consider it to be one of the top ten books they have read.
If you pick up a copy of this book, you will be in store for an extraordinary reading experience.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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I had not heard of Patrick Redmond before when I picked this book off the shelf. Now I've bought all the other books he's read. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2009 by Dublinia
Brilliant, as ever
I'm not going to go over the plot as it's been done several times already by earlier reviews, all I want to add is my praise for this compelling and gripping novel. Read more
Published on 16 April 2009 by crime reader
The Puppet Show - makes you think
Really enjoyed this book, not as much as The Wishing Game, but found that this was a different sort of read compared to his first. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2009 by Marilyn
Award winning stuff
When i read PR's debut novel 'The Wishing Game' i was pleasantly surprised to having liked it so much. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2008 by L. Bezzina
Scarily realistic
Patrick Redmond transports the reader deep into the minds of the characters. This book is full of twists and turn making the book an exillarating read.
Published on 3 Jan 2002
Harshly critised by others... but not by me.
...The book is no better, or worse than Redmond's previous (the Wishing Game). The biggest mistake many make is to assume too much of the author's previous works before they read... Read more
Published on 17 July 2001
Dire
Terrible, terrible book, with awful, unbelievable characters who are just too naive to be true. I enjoyed his [Redmond's] first book - but this had me shaking my head all the way... Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2001
Made his way, made his way...
Redmond "makes his way" (pedants- count over 500 uses of this expression. 4 of them alone on page 352) into the harsh territory of the difficult second novel and becomes... Read more
Published on 23 April 2001
A modern fable
A modern fable with its roots in the "Temptation of Christ" and Faust. Michael Turner raised in state institutions until his early teenage years, is fostered by a... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2001 by "dionemco"
One day, Patrick Redmond will write a classic
It's just unfortunate that he has not managed yet. Thankfully, he has managed to remove the majority of the annoyances that blighted "The Wishing Game" (such as... Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2001 by "moosifier"
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