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Why? Because he's guilty? Or because resentful women in the isolated Dorset village where he lives rule the roost? Shenstead is a place of too few people and too many secrets. Why have James and Alisa cut their children out of their wills? What happened in the past to create such animosity within the family? And why is James so desperate to find the illegitimate child - his only grandchild - who was put up for adoption when she was born? Friendless and alone, his reclusive behaviour begins
to alarm his London-based solicitor, Mark Ankerton, whose concern
deepens when he discovers that James has become the victim of a
relentless campaign which accuses him of far worse that the death of his
wife. Allegations which he refuses to challenge ...why? Because they're
a motive for murder...? |
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Phew, where to begin? I picked up this book two days ago and flew through it. Yesterday when I got email from Erica to come online and chat I had to tear myself almost physically away from this book as I was enjoying it so much. Imagine my disappointment when I found the last two chapters to be a total betrayal of what could have been one of the best thrillers I'd read in a long time. It's going to be hard to write about this without giving away plot threads, but given the circumstances I'm not entirely worried about that. If you don't want to know about this novel, stop reading now, though the back of the book gives most of it away. The novel is extremely interesting in a number of ways; for the most part all the action occurs over a couple of days around Christmas, and follows the movements of seven or eight primary characters, and views events through their eyes. Each of the characters, Mark Ankerton, Wolfie, Fox, Elenor, Vera and Bella have distinct voices which are emotive and engrossing. They all have a lot to say, and Minette's skill as a writer makes you want to hear it. The backdrop of a sleepy but pretty village, fallen on hard times through lack of industry and neglected by the 'weekenders' who spend most of their time in London is reminiscent of Josephine Tey and Agatha Christie. Minette Walters, however, brings into that the harsh reality of the twenty first century; travellers. I suppose they're an easy target, but instead of relying on old stereotypes the author painted them as sympathetic and family orientated, particularly in relation to Bella Preston. Where they became threatening was their self-proclaimed leader, calling himself Fox Evil. There's no attempt to hide the eponymous character's menace, and it was achieved heartbreakingly through the eyes of his son Wolfie. I think that his voice was probably the strongest, but also felt very aware of the manipulative tool of writing fear and horror from a young child's perspective. Ok, let's get into the basics. This story revolves around gossip and innuendo, and the power ideas can have when they are allowed to fester unchallenged. The victim, in this case, is a family, headed by the elderly widower Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. After the mysterious death of his wife he is subjected to a campaign of hate and terror, for which there seems no other explanation than the involvement of his estranged children. At the heart of the accusations is his relationship to his adopted grandchild. Already believing his son Leo to have been involved with his wife's death, James assumes that he is also responsible for priming the local gossips with information. In an attempt to find a worthy heir to his estate he tries to find the lost grandchild; Nancy. Watching from the woods beside the house is Fox Evil; a violent thug, who cuts his son with a razor when he's cross. He stands apart from the other travellers, with a public school accent and inside knowledge of the area and because of his information the travellers lay claim to a piece of land beside the Lockyer-Fox estate that has no owner. Some of the other squatters begin to suspect his motives for being there immediately. Who killed Alisa? Is the the bottom line of this novel. Whoever it was is behind the hate campaign. So why was this such an unsatisfying read? Because there was no pay off at the end. A thriller that spins many complex threads, draws out each character carefully and hints at their secrets demands a few twists and turns before the final page. Instead there was a chiasmic leap between Fox and another character, that was never really hinted at or assumed prior to it occurring. You learned about the connection in an exposition speech by one of the police officers investigating the situation. When you heard the explanation you thought 'what, that was it?' and that doesn't feel right after all that had happened. You wanted Fox to have had a strong motive for his hatred of the Lockyer-Foxes; nothing. He was a mass murderer; you want conclusion to the 'Vixen' and 'Cub' disappearance, but again it wasn't addressed in any way satisfactorily. I can't forgive a lazy ending to a good book. I can forgive a bad book, but not a good book that's just been hastily finished. It's a betrayal of the characters, and a betrayal of the readers. You should put a book down and think, 'wow', and then sigh deeply. Maybe need an hours down time before you look for your next read. What shouldn't ever happen is you turn that last page and are shocked to find it blank, because the story isn't over yet. What should have happened is that Fox was in fact one of the characters we'd met earlier in the book, on James's side, and his daughter Elizabeth would have been the woman known as Vixen. That would have been a nice twist. Having Leo be the killer was far too obvious, so maybe having a third unknown child would have been a nice (but convenient) end. Even in the most basic way Minette betrayed her readers here, but making us care about Wolfie and then never letting him tell us he liked his new life. Or having Nancy be finally embraced by her new family. All the way through this book I was praising Minette Walters return to great crime fiction, but the last few chapters ruined what could have been a superb book. I have decided to give her one last chance, and if she cops out again I won't bother with her any more. It's a shame because her early books were some of my favourite. I'm going to give Acid Row a go next, though I really have low expectations of it, due mainly to the subject matter. I want her to surprise me...in a good way! The Shape of Snakes was horrible, and the end of Fox Evil was so lazy. I really hope she has more to offer, but I'm loosing faith.
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