Tangled Web UK Review April 2012
The Red House by
Christopher Bowden
pbk out February 12
(Langton & Wood)
at £8.99
A low-key tale, unusual in setting – in fact, I wondered what made an author
think of such a theme. It is a smallish book of 192 pages, what I call 'Agatha
Christie size' , rather than the brick-shaped volumes that seem in fashion now.
A young man, Colin Mallory, recently returned from college in the USA, wonders
what has happened to his former school friend Bryony, after they parted rather
abruptly six years earlier. They have both been the leading lights in the senior
school drama group and were both very talented, but Colin had no iterest in becoming a
professional actor.
Sitting in a cafe in his home town of Oxbourne, he sees a pavement artist outside
with examples of his work on a lampost – one of them is Bryony. The artrist
tells him it was done about a week ago and this sets Colin off on a hunt for Bryony,
reinforced by an anonymous note saying that she had been abducted.Much of the
book is a hunt for the girl, culminating in his own abduction by a coven of theatrical
enthusiasts. To say more would be to blow the plot, but it is an intriguing story.
Though hardly likely to keep you on the edge of your seat, it is a well-written
little book.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
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