When I received a review copy of The Quick, which was released yesterday, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Having just finished reading it, I'm still not quite sure how to categorise it. One thing's for sure though - it's full of surprises and charm.
It begins in a fairly common literary setting, a Victorian country estate. Fans of Dickens or the Bronte's won't feel out of their comfort zone. This particular manor house has seen better days, as have Charlotte and James, the brother and sister with a dead mother and absent father who are left to pretty much fend for themselves. One of their favourite games is daring each other to be locked inside the dark priest hole in the library. This already made me shudder, before its chilling reappearance at the end of the novel.
James grows up and moves to London hoping to begin a new life, just as the novel evolves and moves into a new phase. Both become involved in a sinister twist - James disappears and, when Charlotte sets out to find him, she uncovers more than she bargained for as the book moves into a tale of gothic horror. You'll have to read the book yourself to discover the macabre secrets of the Aegolius Club and Augustus Mould though !
If you like spinechilling stories with an olde-worlde feel and aren't averse to a paranormal twist, my advice is to read it now, before everyone spills the beans and spoils the suprise !
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £12.99
- Hardcover: 528 pages
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape (3 April 2014)
- Language: Unknown
- ISBN-10: 0224096389
- ISBN-13: 978-0224096386
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 15.8 x 4.8 cm
Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book.
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Such an unusual book, not at all what I expected. I posted a review on my blog as well http://www.chezmaximka.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-quick-by-lauren-owen.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up - I always love comparing notes to see what everyone else thought :) It is a really surprising book - I didn't want to give away too many spoilers !
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought, writing a review, don't want to unveil too much. It is a truly haunting book, even if not my genre at all. Glad I got it for reviewing, or otherwise I wouldn't have read it probably
ReplyDeletesounds good, I might give it a read
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