An Excellent Thriller With Just One Disappointment
When the man claiming to be Dr John
Shepherd arrives at a mental hospital for women on an isolated New England
island in the 1890’s we share his horror at the inhuman treatments provided for
the patients by his new employer, the martinet Morgan and his sadistic female
sidekick O’Reilly.
The Gothic building set in parkland
provides a perfect backdrop for sinister goings on with plenty of creaking
doors and dark corridors inhabited by a silent presence as Shepherd settles
into his psychiatric role. He offers a benevolent moral treatment to the
enigmatic Jane Dove (“the girl who couldn’t read” of the title) in an attempt
to prove to Morgan that there is an alternative to the hospital’s wicked and tyrannical
remedies.
The author creates an extremely evocative
picture of the stark and grim institution especially as the winter chill sets
in and the novel has the true feel of a period piece with a nod to The Brontes
(particularly Jane Eyre), Poe and Henry James. The reader becomes enthralled in
the Shakespeare loving and highly literate narrator’s story and, little by
little, discovers more about his true nature.
Although billed as a sequel to the
wonderful Florence & Giles, the
novel stands on its own. I would certainly recommend that you read the prequel
as it is quite excellent but it would make little difference if you read it
before or after reading this.
Although billed as a literary thriller, it
is not verbose or wordy but is written in a clear, concise and urgent style
that grips you and compels you to read on. It is a thriller of the highest
order.
And the one disappointment in my review
title? It’s the disappointment that I have finished the book and will struggle
to find something as engaging to read next.
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