Having gushed so shamelessly about Alan Bradley’s Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, a delightful little mystery, I feel it only fair to give equal time to a book that might almost be called its evil twin.
In The Little Stranger, acclaimed author Sarah Waters delivers a sinister tale brimming with psychological complexity.
It is, like Sweetness, brilliant plotted and awash in rich atmosphere. It is set in post-World War II summer at a country estate that was home to the family for more than two centuries now in a state of decline, and deals with the massive social changes of the war’s aftermath. Also, a totally satisfying read.
Here’s what’s different – it is a ghost story and not a murder mystery. After being summoned by the Ayres family to treat a patient at Hundreds Hall, a doctor finds himself becoming entangled with the family and the supernatural presences in the house. During the doctor's repeated emergency visits – which are for the most peculiar reasons – he becomes smitten with the family’s daughter, oblivious of the Ayres’ self-destructive insularity and the ghostly avengers arisen from their past.
Reviewers have compared Waters in her latest effort to a prestigious list of gothic and literary masters including Edgar Allan Poe, Sheridan le Fanu, Wilkie Collins … and Evelyn Waugh.
A Kirkus review called it a “gripping thriller from one of the most interesting novelists at work today.”
Put this one on your beach reads list, too!
