Readers with a taste for the unusual (and who don't mind some nauseating passages) will find this a palatable novel about...
A dark concoction about an ambitious culinary apprentice in 1980s London, Storr’s debut features a complex title character, gothic undertones and an unnerving plot.
Killian Lone begins his journey as a sympathetic young man, a target for neighborhood bullies into adulthood and the product of a dysfunctional family. His only source of solace is his great-aunt Dorothy, who spends hours teaching him to cook when he visits her at Dor Cottage, the old family home. Killian is descended from a long line of talented chefs, including the original owner of the cottage, Mary Dor, who cooked for the first Earl of Sussex and was burned at the stake as a witch. When he's accepted at culinary school, Killian’s skills prove exceptional, and his instructor secures him an apprenticeship at the chic restaurant run by Killian’s idol, acclaimed chef Max Mann. Killian’s dreams of being taken under the chef's wing unravel as he discovers the gulf between Mann’s public persona and his private actions. Though Killian tells himself Mann is under tremendous pressure to earn a third Michelin star, the horrendous kitchen conditions begin to splinter his “turnspit dog” loyalty. Killian's work is undermined by Mann's assistant, and he's subject to a blind "taste test" that involves crackers spread with excrement. As he strives for success, his future becomes increasingly tied to a secret he uncovers at Dor Cottage following Dorothy’s death; using it transforms his career, spurs speculation about his ethics and culinary abilities, affects his relationship with the woman he loves and consumes his life. An award-winning journalist, Storr has created a disturbing tale about cutthroat rivalries in a high-profile industry, and his claim that many of the kitchen incidents are based on true stories makes it even juicier.
Readers with a taste for the unusual (and who don't mind some nauseating passages) will find this a palatable novel about ambition, human fallibility and revenge.Pub Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4767-3043-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Marble Arch/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Like Jeffery Deaver, veteran Coben (Stay Close, 2012, etc.) is a magician who’s a lot more fun to watch when you don’t know...
Six years after the summer girlfriend he’s convinced is the love of his life throws him over to marry someone else, a shocking series of revelations draws a Massachusetts professor back to her.
“Promise me you’ll leave us alone,” Natalie Avery demanded of Jake Fisher after her wedding to surgeon Todd Sanderson. And for six years Jake’s done exactly that. But the news of Todd’s death rekindles his desire to see Natalie again. What could be the harm, now that she’s been widowed by the robbers who shot Todd to death? When he travels to their home in South Carolina, however, he walks into mystery and denial. Todd’s widow isn’t Natalie, but someone named Delia. Natalie’s sister Julie Pottham denies knowing anything about Jake. So do Cookie, the Kraftsboro Bookstore Café owner who served Jake and Natalie all those scones, and Rev. Kelly, who officiated at the wedding. In fact, there’s no record that Natalie and Todd were ever married at all. An anonymous email telling Jake, “You made a promise,” grieves Jake but doesn’t deter him from his search. Neither does a close encounter with a pair of killers who want to know where Natalie is and are certain Jake can tell them. Up till now, Jake’s nightmare is as infernally all-absorbing as Dr. David Beck’s in Tell No One (2001). But the discovery of a clue that begins to unravel the mystery also sends the tale spiraling past the bounds of plausibility, even for a thriller, until Jake’s quest for the truth entangles benevolent conspiracies, hired killers, multiple disappearances, the Mafia and all the people besides Natalie that Jake has held nearest and dearest.
Like Jeffery Deaver, veteran Coben (Stay Close, 2012, etc.) is a magician who’s a lot more fun to watch when you don’t know how he’s fooling you.Pub Date: March 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-525-95348-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
Astute, insightful, and descriptive storytelling; a strong step in a new direction for Singh.
Soon after a widowed pianist returns to her tiny hometown in coastal New Zealand, a woman disappears, echoing the events of a summer when she was a teenager and everything shifted for her and her friends.
After burying her husband, Anahera Rawiri leaves London to return to Golden Cove, which sits next to the South Pacific Ocean and inside a “primal and untamed landscape.” Anahera has been gone for years, married to a rich playwright, living in London, traveling the world as a classical pianist. She’s remained close to her best friend, Josie, but only vaguely kept in touch with other Golden Cove friends; the teenage dissensions that began along social and economic lines in their group of friends grew into adult schisms exacerbated by betrayals and rivalries. Almost as soon as Anahera settles into the remote cabin her mother left her, beautiful young Miriama, who works at Josie's cafe, disappears. When the village comes together to search for her, Anahera acts as a bridge for the local policeman, Will, who is still considered an outsider, and she soon realizes that her friends and the town may harbor dark secrets: “Everyone has hidden corners of their life, even the people we think we know inside and out.” As she and Will follow the clues and discover more about her friends, the townspeople, and each other, they connect in profound ways even as they begin to suspect the search for Miriama may be connected to the disappearance of three female hikers one summer when Ana was a teenager. Popular romance author Singh shifts to a new genre, New Zealand gothic, in which nearly every character—including the dense, ferocious landscape—has something to hide, and studying them is nearly as fascinating and compelling as solving the multifaceted mystery.
Astute, insightful, and descriptive storytelling; a strong step in a new direction for Singh.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-593-09913-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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