Crazy case of lady in the lake
THE BUS ON THURSDAY by Shirley Barrett (Fleet £14.99, 272 pp) AFTER her critically acclaimed and highly unusual debut, Rush Oh!, Shirley Barrett has now produced this week’s wildcard — crazy from start to finish, but also hilarious.
Having just had breast cancer, as well as some bad relationships, teacher Eleanor moves to the remote, beautiful town of Talbingo (we’re in Australia), where a job suddenly comes up.
Eleanor gets there to find no wi-fi, no one in the streets — and no explanation for the sudden and mysterious disappearance of Miss Barker, her predecessor.
A cast of Gothic rural locals are little help and, once the impulsive Eleanor starts a wild affair with the father of one of her pupils, things get hopelessly out of hand. Hand being the operative word when one is found in the local lake . . . is it Miss Barker’s?
This witty, wise and rather demented novel occupies a strange, and possibly unique, space between screwball comedy, murder mystery and magical realism. THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN by Mitch Albom (Sphere £14.99, 224 pp)
MITCH ALBOM is obviously a hugely popular author, with 36 million books sold and counting. If he’s your cup of tea, you’ll love the story of just-married Annie and Paulo, who have a tragic accident on their wedding night.
Albom’s thesis is that when you go to heaven, you meet five people from your past who reveal unsuspected truths about your life.
In Annie’s case, these include the man who saved her from death in a fairground, her misunderstood mother and her pet dog.
The themes of forgiveness and redemption are fair enough and Albom has an agreeably zippy writing style. But I found all the death a bit depressing and all the moralising a little glib.
A SPARK OF LIGHT by Jodi Picoult (Hodder £16.99, 368 pp)
IN THE last abortion clinic in Mississippi, a crazed pro-life gunman is holding staff and patients hostage.
Hugh, a police negotiator, is doing his best to free them — little does he realise (at first) his teenage daughter Wren is among those trapped inside.
Her companions include an abortion doctor whose work contravenes his religion and (nice twist) an undercover pro-life activist.
Picoult’s even-handed aim is to show all as human beings with understandable reasons for believing what they do.
If you like her big-themes oeuvre, you’ll lap it up.
For me, the challenge was the structure. The story works backwards to examine each character’s motive and, if you don’t pay close attention, it’s easy to get confused.