Forty-five-year-old professor of literature Jack Griffen, considers his exchange student, Hieronymus Beck, to be his protégé. Hiero has travelled far to study Jack’s course, and the two of them spend many meetings outside the classroom discussing literature. On the night before he is due to return to America, Hiero tells Jack he is writing a novel. Not just any novel but the next In Cold Blood. A bold claim, the book that defined the true crime genre.
When their meeting is over, Jack realises Hiero has dropped his notes and research on the floor. Jack, interest piqued, cannot help himself but to peruse them. The research contains five sets of stapled pages. Each set lists the details of five different murders. How the murder will be committed, where it will take place, when, and lastly the victim’s identity.
Jack, reading the paper the next morning, is shocked to discover that there has been an assault on a young woman that matches the first murder sheets of Hiero’s research exactly. When the second murder follows Hiero’s notes to the letter, fiction seems to be turning into real life. Jack, using the research notes, takes it upon himself to try and stop the remaining murders from taking place.
This is a long novel, but the narrative moves at a frantic pace. Coupled with short chapters and the action, it is hard to find a place to pause and the novel flies by.
Fans of murder mysteries will love this. The twists come thick and fast leaving you guessing right up until the climax. Also, fans of literature will enjoy the references to novels both classic and contemporary that pop up everywhere. Very enjoyable and hard to put down.
Reviewed by Neale Lucas
0 Comments