by John Connolly
ISBN 978-1-4767-5139-9
“A book is a carrier, and the ideas contained within its covers are an infection waiting to be spread. They breed in men. They adapt according to the host. Books alter men, and men, in their turn, alter worlds.”
By all accounts, Lionel Maulding led a quiet and retired life in the English countryside, never traveling further afield than strictly necessary. If he was regarded as a little bit eccentric by his neighbours, he was also considered harmless. So when Maulding goes missing, both foul play and leaving of his own volition seem equally unlikely. Recently returned from the Great War, Soter is hired by Maulding’s lawyer, Mr. Quayle, to look into Maulding’s whereabouts. When Soter arrives at Bromdun Hall, he discovers that Maulding’s home is less of a house, and more of a library—every room is overflowing books. Maulding’s library reveals his recent fascination with the supernatural and occult, and leads Soter into the dangerous world of occultist book sellers in London as he searches for answers.
What starts out slowly as a conventional historical mystery takes a chilling turn for the supernatural when Lionel Maulding’s occult studies are revealed. The turn from routine mystery to creepy horror is abrupt, but prior to this point, the story wasn’t really grabbing my interest. Unfortunately, the story comes to a rather abrupt conclusion just when it feels like we are getting into the meat of Connolly’s fascinating world. This may be in part due to false expectation set by the fact that the last 15% of the Kindle file is a preview for one of Connolly’s novels, but it is also due in part to the fact that the ending leaves a lot to the imagination. Having read a few Kindle Singles over the course of the last month, I shouldn’t be surprised; very few of them have struck the right balance and actually feel as if they are “expressed at their natural length.” Connolly’s writing is intriguing and I would consider reading other books by him in the future, but this novella failed to satisfy.
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More Kindle Singles:
To Have and Uphold by Adam Liptak
Rules for Virgins by Amy Tan
Drinking My Way Through 14 Dating Websites by Tiffany Peon
Required Reading 