Bookclub: The Discussion of The Cupboard Under The Stairs (contains spoilers)

(15 Oct 2012 03:03 PM)Notoriety Wrote:  I hadn't realised that Roger was a member here and hesitated about posting here my annotation after reading the book. Sorry about this - it's pretty tough. Other members will know that other authors here have had some difficult reviews from me. I just did not think this worked at all well.

Banal cliched writing. Unimaginative and lacks empathy with the characters. They remain as wooden as the murderer’s carvings and could as well be called Victim #1 etc. Slightly better when it changes from a rather unpleasant slasher horror story to a police procedural, but with not that much to redeem the lazy tics and tropes of the genre. Impossibly the police forget to search the suspect’s premises and 2 cops are killed as a result, a clanger that goes unnoticed by either “the brass” or the interfering and stupid press. An attempt to blend Stephen King and Ian Rankin with all the scariness of a pair of wet socks and the intelligence of a wooden gnome.

You may indeed wonder why I stayed with it. It was only to find out how the author squared the gritty world of a serial murder investigation and the (oddly) slightly whimsical horror/fantasy tale of a family of murderous carvings come to life. Basically it boiled down to WDC Baggot saying that she agreed with Tompkins version that she had indeed been gnomed to near death, despite Tompkins’ efforts to protect her. The force shrink explains this as Tompkins “thought transference”, which all accept and live happily ever after . OMG ! If as Roger has just suggested it was "Tompkins' nightmare", then it's all a lot of effort for not very much.

Tony

(15 Oct 2012 03:09 PM)Susanne Wrote:  Tony, Roger is not usually here, but his agent/publisher (?) is and she alerted Roger to the discussion.

(15 Oct 2012 05:43 PM)joo Wrote:  A few people have mentioned "clunky writing" and that the story had holes and an unsatisfactory ending, yet I'd posted at midnight that I just had to go to bed, then I finished the rest off as I wanted to keep going.
I'm not saying it's marvellously written fiction, just that I was glued to my kindle screen and turning that page again and again.
I like that there are different tastes on this site.
I must admit I was shouting at the police "go and break in" But Hogg realised, but not quite in time.
Like most detective stories, ff they'd solved the clue at the first instance, the book would be a rather short one.

(17 Oct 2012 07:50 AM)rogerk Wrote:  Thanks Joo & Elaine. I do totally accept that TCUTS isn’t a literary masterpiece, or even close, but I had hoped that it would be entertaining to over eighteens who like ‘dark stuff’. I’m guessing that that’s how you both saw it, and assuming that my guess is a good one, I thank you, and very much appreciate your input.