The Art of Dying by
Vena Cork
hbk out December 05
Published by Headline
at £18.99
A sequel to a previous thriller called 'Thorn', it is based in the affected,
pretentious milieu of the London art world. This extremely well-written
story revolves around Rosa Thorn, whose husband Rob, a talented black
painter, was killed in a road accident more than a year before. Rosa is
persuaded to allow a gallery owner to hold an exhibition of his work,
though she is unwilling to sell any, in spite of considerable pressure. At
the opening, she meets a number of old friends, but the evening is spoilt
by the drunken abusive behaviour of another artist. Soon afterwards,
Rosa leaves alone after her two children have gone abroad, is disturbed by
an apparent stalker, who leaves a number of traces of his presence around
the house. She keeps imagining that her dead husband is peering through
the windows, then eventually he appears, but turns out to be an unknown
brother-in-law, Joshua.
The book is punctuated by obscure, sinister passages in italics, the
significance of which only appears much later – when a murder occurs
and the plot becomes more convoluted. The writing, in the first person, is
superb, though I noticed that it has what I consider to be a common fault
these days, in that a legion of characters are unleashed too quickly in the
first chapter of the book. Certainly a 'psychological' crime novel out of
the ordinary, though I have to say it wasn't quite 'my cup of tea'.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
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The Art of Dying by
Vena Cork
