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R.J. Ellory
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Genre
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Media
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Book
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Publisher | Orion | ||
ISBN | 978-075288263 | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Synopsis
Joseph Vaughan's life has been dogged by tragedy. Growing up in the 1950s, he was at the centre of series of killings of young girls in his small rural community. The girls were taken, assaulted and left horribly mutilated. Barely a teenager himself, Joseph becomes determined to try to protect his community and classmates from the predations of the killer. Despite banding together with his friends as ' The Guardians', he was powerless to prevent more murders - and no one was ever caught. Only after a full ten years did the nightmare end when the one of his neighbours is found hanging from a rope, with articles from the dead girls around him. Thankfully, the killings finally ceased. But the past won't stay buried - for it seems that the real murderer still lives and is killing again. And the secret of his identity lies in Joseph's own history...
Review
It starts with one of the best opening lines I've read in an age -and for the first 220 pages it held me in a vice -its pace gripping, the descriptions vivid and emotive and I wanted to know more. The story of child murders in rural America was fascinating - especially seen from a childs perspective. How can an innocent mind understand the concept of evil?
It was very enthralling and I couldn't put it down -that was until the "protagonist" Joseph Vaughan grew up and left Augusta Falls. I found then that I couldn't empathise with the character -it paints a very bleak story -a tale of obsession and emptiness; of innocence lost. The descriptions and language was rich and vivid but I just didn't care for Joseph as a character any more -which was a shame. I continued reading to find out who the murderer was.
The last movement of the story -which dealt with Joseph's incarceration and the final revelation of the murderer felt rushed in comparison with the rest of the novel. 15 years were compressed in 15 pages or so. I felt a little cheated. The "unmasking of the murderer" was over just as quick as a flash. For me, the way the story was written -basically written in flashback but with interspersions of the "present day"- hampered the flow of the story. Had it been written in chronological order then the ending might have had more impact for me -as it was, it felt inconsequential.
However, this is a well written and thought provoking book, and the first 200 pages were certainly haunting. My one warning is don't read this expecting a bulk standard murder mystery / serial killer / crime type novel -it isn't -it's far more.
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