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rowena_wiseman's review
4.0
N A Randall's debut novella A Quiet Place To Die was published by Wild Wolf Publishing, a small press in the UK specialising in 'dark and edgy fiction.' The book tells the story of Bobby Philips who has relocated to a sleepy fishing village, following a mysterious tragedy. He finds himself living a door down from Terry Lacemaker, the local builder with a lousy reputation.
Terry Lacemaker is a fully rendered character. His dialogue is written with such precision that one gets the feeling that they have met him before. Whilst his behaviour is outrageously disrespectful, and his building practice is highly questionable, this character is written with a lightheartedness and warmth that one can't help but enjoy. There are some fantastic moments when Lacemaker transforms his neighbour's backyard into a 'maintenance-free garden' and his sexual misconduct verges on dark comedy.
Bobby Philips on the other hand, with his secrets and anger management issues, is a more distant character. We are drip fed little pieces of the tragedy that has made him want to relocate, and this is a clever ploy by Randall to keep us turning those pages and wanting to find out more.
Randall builds and maintains the tension throughout. Different characters circle around each other and finally come together at the end for a highly charged, if a little over the top, confrontation. But even this can be forgiven, as one feels that they are in safe hands with Randall, as if we are on a ship and he is the captain navigating us through icebergs.
Terry Lacemaker is a fully rendered character. His dialogue is written with such precision that one gets the feeling that they have met him before. Whilst his behaviour is outrageously disrespectful, and his building practice is highly questionable, this character is written with a lightheartedness and warmth that one can't help but enjoy. There are some fantastic moments when Lacemaker transforms his neighbour's backyard into a 'maintenance-free garden' and his sexual misconduct verges on dark comedy.
Bobby Philips on the other hand, with his secrets and anger management issues, is a more distant character. We are drip fed little pieces of the tragedy that has made him want to relocate, and this is a clever ploy by Randall to keep us turning those pages and wanting to find out more.
Randall builds and maintains the tension throughout. Different characters circle around each other and finally come together at the end for a highly charged, if a little over the top, confrontation. But even this can be forgiven, as one feels that they are in safe hands with Randall, as if we are on a ship and he is the captain navigating us through icebergs.
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