I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley
Rating | ⭐⭐1/2
With a cover like this I expected some scares. Instead I got a completely bizarre sometimes nonsensical book that started out so strong and had me hooked, then grew gradually weaker until the end when I just kind of went, "...meh?"
When Richard is fourteen, his parents die in a house fire. He is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a small town called Ballantyne. He is an outcast from the start, but manages to convince one kid to hang out with him. But when Tom disappears, everyone thinks Richard has tossed him in the river. No one believes him that they made a prank phone call from a telephone booth and then the receiver ate Tom right up. Richard begins seeing things and hearing voices, then a second classmate vanishes. Richard is unable to convince everyone that Fatso, as he was rudely nicknamed, morphed into a giant bug and flew away after having dinner at Richard's house one evening. Richard is sent away to a correctional facility, where strange events continue to happen.
I love love love unreliable narrators, but Richard was on a whole other level, to the point this just bordered on absurd. Richard was awful and unreliable, which is also not typically a deal-breaker because some of my favorite characters have been not-so-great people. They're just that well written. And it's not that Richard isn't well-written, he's just such a little jerk. He's mean and always looking for trouble, nevermind the homophobia and misogyny. He was just so mean that when everything started happening, it was hard to feel bad for him. I kept reminding myself his parents had died, but eventually I just did not care because he's unlikable and not in a fun way.
The first part of the book was the best and I was so into the story, had no idea where it could go. Part two is told with Richard as an adult. Not the worst, but the feel of the story shifted and I wasn't as into it. Part three...I don't even know. It felt like a big letdown but I can't even explain why because, spoilers.
Overall I can't say I really recommend it, unless you want a bizarre read that leaves you thinking, "...WHAT? OH. Oh. Well...eh."
This one kind of came and went from my radar when it was released. I've read some of his murder mysteries and enjoyed them, but his take on Macbeth was a miss for me.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth is my most fave of the tragedies so it is probably best I missed it. This had such a good start in the first part but 2 and 3 were not it. You're not missing anything.
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