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A review by nigellicus
Bad Things by Michael Marshall Smith
5.0
We here at Sheelagh na Gig like our thrillers dark and brooding and twisty, full of foreboding, dense with danger,tingling with trepidation, minging with menace, but most of all, we like them well written. That’s why this week’s review commends to your attention Bad Things, by Michael Marshall, which has an opening that will break your heart, a story that will drag you to the edge of your seat, and a terrifyingly suspenseful climax that will dump you on the floor.
Bad Things opens with the sudden, inexplicable death of a young boy on a jetty, devastating the lives of his parents and destroying their marriage. Three years later the father, John Henderson, is working in a pizza joint, reluctantly protecting his boss’ daughter from the dangerous blunderings of her drug dealing boyfriend, until he receives a mysterious e-mail from someone who claims to know how his son died. Henderson is drawn him back to the tangled forests of Washington State where a wealthy family and an entire town conspire to keep some horrible secrets.
Grappling with old memories and fighting old ghosts, haunted by his devastating loss, John becomes entangled in a sinister web of secrets and old power that may well provide answers to the mystery of his son’s death that he might be better off never knowing. The arrival of his boss’ daughter and boyfriend with a pair of hitmen in close pursuit, adds a complication that he could really do without. Death and darkness close about our hero and the people he wants to protect, and the scene is set for a final confrontation on the same jetty where he lost his son
Marshall’s crisp, fluent style conveys setting, character and emotion with precision and clarity while the murky, mysterious plot is slowly, tantalisingly unravelled, building a sense of disquiet and unease into an almost unbearable suspense. Bad Things provides more than a few chills, making it perfect reading for the Summer holidays.
Bad Things opens with the sudden, inexplicable death of a young boy on a jetty, devastating the lives of his parents and destroying their marriage. Three years later the father, John Henderson, is working in a pizza joint, reluctantly protecting his boss’ daughter from the dangerous blunderings of her drug dealing boyfriend, until he receives a mysterious e-mail from someone who claims to know how his son died. Henderson is drawn him back to the tangled forests of Washington State where a wealthy family and an entire town conspire to keep some horrible secrets.
Grappling with old memories and fighting old ghosts, haunted by his devastating loss, John becomes entangled in a sinister web of secrets and old power that may well provide answers to the mystery of his son’s death that he might be better off never knowing. The arrival of his boss’ daughter and boyfriend with a pair of hitmen in close pursuit, adds a complication that he could really do without. Death and darkness close about our hero and the people he wants to protect, and the scene is set for a final confrontation on the same jetty where he lost his son
Marshall’s crisp, fluent style conveys setting, character and emotion with precision and clarity while the murky, mysterious plot is slowly, tantalisingly unravelled, building a sense of disquiet and unease into an almost unbearable suspense. Bad Things provides more than a few chills, making it perfect reading for the Summer holidays.