This was a great read. This Author is bandied about in the reading groups all the time, and I kept seeing her name mentioned. Most people like her, so I wanted to know if she lived up to the hype.
She does.
I powered through it and found the characterisation very strong. Her people are well-drawn, and the story bobs along at a good pace.
I’d give this book an 8.5 out of 10.
The descriptions of the old house are lovely. She leans towards the protagonist having psychopathic tendencies and then backs away from it. I think she could have gone harder with that. Either with him being a psychopath and committing—or leading us to believe he was and then coming back from it. The way it was written, it sounded as though she was confused herself about his personality. But that doesn’t mean that it was in any way wishy-washy or lacking in pace, tension and excitement.
It’s a strong read, and I loved it.
Katherine Black / Susan (Sooz) Simpson
Founder of Best Book Editors
Katherine has held almost every single job imaginable, from painting gnomes to zookeeper. She spent most of her life in the caring profession and has managed both a nursing home and a care agency. But her passion for the written language always brings her home to novel writing.
Born in Tyne-and-Wear, North-East England, she has settled in the beautiful Lake District, Cumbria, with her partner, two dogs, a cat, an iguana and a python (just don’t ask her which of those six things is her favourite!).
She specialises in content creation and social media outreach, and has been a developmental editor for hundreds of clients. She owns and operates bestbookeditors.com where she helps foundling authors polish their skills. However, after being diagnosed with a dramatic brain condition in 2022, she has had to let 23 staff go, and scale back the business. BBE is still very much open, we are just fewer and can’t take as much work on.
Katherine Black is the author of psychological thriller/detective/fantasy adventure novels.
