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Post by vaughan on Jun 23, 2009 16:16:48 GMT
My initial return to horror fiction offered up "Cat's Eyes" by an author I didn't know. The cover promised "A blood-chilling novel of revenge and terror", which seemed just about right. The cover is of a cat's head, staring right at you, with two sets of lights hanging ominously above...... And so I delved into this short (170 page) novel, hoping for a good scare. What I got, however, was something else entirely... The plot here is of an American woman, recently married to an author, and relocated to the wilds of the Sussex Downs. Having taken up residence near a small village, and knowing next to no-one, the husband is called away to the US in order to work on a screenplay - leaving her alone with her thoughts and fears.... Many of the fears stem from a recent car accident in which, inadvertently, she had killed a local workman. Obviously this doesn't endear her to the hearts of some of he locals...... Still suffering from nightmares about the death, and feeling alone in a reclusive home, it isn't long before strange happenings begin - writing appears, faces at the window, scratching sounds...... It's all rather mysterious, and slowly our heroine begins to lose her mind.... And the book, as it turns out, starts to drop clues that it's not only the woman who is in for a surprise, the reader is too. Because half way through the novel there is one thing that is really clear - this is NOT a horror novel. It's more akin to a thriller, in fact, if you remember the TV Series "Thriller" then you'll have an idea of what you'll find here. I won't spoil the ending, but while it is satisfying, it just isn't horror... But then, I can't dismiss the book because of some marketing blurb that mislead me, or the cover art. And the fact is, I did enjoy reading it. There are various bits and pieces of "action" and mystery, and the writing is fine. The falt was here was my own expectation - I wanted more of what the author wasn't even trying to give me.  So in that light I recommend Cat's Eyes for those that enjoy a thriller, but don't go expecting a classic slice of horror, because it isn't here! |
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