![]() I have a mantra in life: ‘It’s not about what if, it’s about what’s next.’ I do believe that there’s such a fine line between enjoying (and reliving) memories and falsely perceiving security in the past. Once you go down this latter route, there is no ‘next.’ Having suffered from anxiety in the past I can totally relate and empathize with this state of mind – as indeed the author does here. The Midnight Library takes the whole ‘what’s next’ from the ‘what if’ pivot point and allows the main character – Nora Seed – to re-examine relationships and places, tastes, and talents. The ‘if only’ argument is scrutinised and evaluated in beautiful prose, and we are taken on a journey which begins with Nora setting the date for her suicide, and during which we and she hope to find life’s equilibrium once again. I absolutely loved the whole magic of the library and the appearances and reappearances of characters in, effectively, parallel universes. It felt like we were taking a truly three-dimensional sabbatical while we, as readers, found the time and space to look back at all of those crossroads in our lives and, hopefully, felt that we had been guided to take the turnings we ‘chose.’ I did get a little bogged down in the final third of the book. I felt that some of the charm of the story was clobbered by an increasing reinforcement of the book’s central message – just in case we hadn’t really got it! I did, and still enjoyed it. Some readers might say that this is much too light-hearted an approach to such a serious subject. My answer to them would be that by reading a book as this they might understand a little more about the condition. None of us are likely to read a heavy, learned article from The Lancet in order to receive the same information. By making it so accessible – like a good TV drama that makes you look more closely at, frankly, very frightening issues – this book is more likely to provide a lasting memory – before we move on to the next one.
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![]() I was sufficiently grabbed by the publicity surrounding this book where both publisher and reviewers employ such words and phrases as: ‘menacing,’ ‘eerie,’ ‘spine-tingling’ and ‘a gothic horror.’ The scene – the only scene really – where the action takes place is also promising: a former sanatorium which has been turned into a luxury hotel, despite much protesting from the locals. Of course, there is snow, an avalanche, and yet more snow. Detective Elin Warner is quite intriguing. She has a professional back story which, though I thought it a bit flaky, does colour her character and informs her actions. She also has a personal history with both her (hitherto estranged) brother, who invites her to the hotel for an engagement party, and another brother from the past. I did find this familial triangle interesting and was keen to see how it resolved itself. The main plot concerns the disappearance of her brother’s fiancée and events which happen thereafter and a similar such event from the past. The story really focuses on what has been and is going on, who might be next, and who the ‘baddie’ is. So, a classic suspense story. Unfortunately, after about the first third of the story I didn’t really care about any of the above, nor Elin who I found very hard to empathize with despite the danger she was in and her best efforts to get herself and the other guests out of it. If she was supposed to be a heroic figure, it was lost on me. Her insipid two-dimensional boyfriend didn’t help matters, and I found the other main characters rather stereotypical and uninteresting. I wasn’t grabbed by the plot twists, nor did I feel any great satisfaction or sense of calm at the end. I suppose I found it all rather laboured, which is a shame as I think the suspense, if handled better, could have had me on the edge of my comfortable lounge seat or even drafty funicular. Judging by the Epilogue, Detective Warner will be solving more crimes in the future. On this showing I am quite happy to leave them unsolved… and unread. |
AuthorI am a fiction writer, currently living in Worcestershire, enjoying mystery dramas, thrillers, poetry, comedy and history. I read a wide range of fiction, also writing book reviews here and sharing on amazon, goodreads and Waterstones sites. Archives
October 2024
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