Rattle

Publication Date: 30 January 2017

Goodreads Description

A psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter. He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he's just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family's macabre museum. Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt. Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs. What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey's father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions. Set in London's Blackheath, Rattle by Fiona Cummins explores the seam of darkness that runs through us all; the struggle between light and shadow, redemption and revenge. It is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath. And it's also a story about not giving up hope when it seems that all hope is already lost.

My Review

When I first read this book's blurb I just knew that I had to get my hands on a copy. I mean really, with a line that reads "a psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter", who wouldn't be drawn to this book. And as most of you know, I'm a sucker for serial killers, psychopaths, mentally messed up individuals and twisted stories. I'm happy to report that this one ticked all the boxes for me.

This is a story that reads easily and although it's rather long, the pages seemed to fly by. There are a fairly large number of characters, or so it seemed at first, and it took me a good few chapters to get everyone straight in my head, especially because of the fact that they are sometimes referred to by their first names and sometimes by their surnames, but once I had the hang of the characters, the book was an easy read. The chapters are broken down into the days of the week and each chapter heading is the time of day at which the events in the chapter take place.

This is a story about a twisted psychopath who kidnaps children who are physically deformed in some way, they are medical irregularities. Little Clara is missing most of the fingers on each hand and Jakey has a bone condition which leads his body to grow extra bones, a secondary skeleton if you will. And this is what appeals to "The Bone Collector", the psychopath who finds joy is his collection of weird and creepy bones. He's the custodian of his family's macabre museum and adding to the collection is part of his purpose in life. This is a man who lives two distinct lives, tending to his sick and ailing wife during the day, while secretly sussing out his next victim whenever he has a free moment.

This story is freaky on a number of levels. Not only is the psychopath and his museum weird, but the medical conditions that the children suffer from are also very disturbing. I had never heard of "stone man syndrome" before and so I found myself on Google researching it. And yes people, it does actually exist and it sounds too awful for words. My heart really went out to Jakey in the chapters dealing with his condition and the pain he was in.

I found that this story was more than merely a crime procedural. A lot of the story focuses on the characters, their relationships with each other and with their children. It was also a character driven story and actually the psychopath himself doesn't feature massively in the first 300 pages of this book. One would think that that could be a little boring, but it wasn't.

For me, the measure of a great book is one that I think about when I'm not reading it and one that I can't wait to get back to. Books that hook me and pull me in are always my favourites. I had specifically decided this year that I was going to be very greedy with my 5 stars and that I wasn't going to dish them out easily. For some people, a book must have amazing description and an almost poetic like prose, for others they want a book to touch something deep inside of them. But for me, I need a book that moves at pace, that grips me, that I think about when I'm not reading it and that I can't wait to get home and read some more of every day. Those are the types of books that I love. They are books that make people read because they are gripping. This book isn't absolutely faultless and I could criticise one or two things, but I would just be nitpicking. This one grips. So on that basis, this book is getting 5 stars from me. I loved it!

My rating: * * * * *

Many thanks to author, Fiona Cummins and publishers, Pan Macmillan for my copy.