Collie

You did this; you killed my brother, you and yourfancy tart downstairs, you and your Hollywoodideas. You killed him, as sure as if you had taken agun and shot him through the heart, now you canjoin him you bastard! She pulled one of the largekitchen knives from behind her back and raisedit above her head then lunged at Lenny. I movedquickly and tried to grab her arm but she hadthe strength of a man, so much strength that shetossed me aside like a rag doll. I remember hereyes vividly, staring, empty, as though nothingelse mattered but driving the knife into Lenny,as though there was nobody else in the room. Itackled her from behind and by this time Stan hadmanaged to get a grip on her arm and all three ofus fell onto the bed.

I was pleased to read Collie this is both a substantialnovel and an extremely good one, with a storywhose credibility rests on the authors literary style,which is assured, controlled and atmospheric. It isa touching and compelling work, balanced betweendetailed description and a paced narrative ofevents.

The story is built gradually and with a great dealof patience on behalf of the writer, who takespains to increase the tension and atmospherewhilst drawing his characters with accurate andwell observed characterisation. He weaves theirrelationships with unpretentious charm, markingthe text with genuine warmth. The dialogue isbelievable and well written, the setting evokedclearly but with subtlety this is a novel with anindividual and original style, one which will appealto readers of quality fi ction.

Helen Pascall-Barton.