Untouchable Things
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Danger lurks within a close-knit group of London artists as a puppet master plots the fate of a beautiful actress in this psychological thriller.
London actress Rebecca Laurence is center stage and shining in her role as Ophelia. For one audience member in particular, she is like a ballerina impaled in a musical box—one that he longs to add to his collection. Amid the thundering applause, he watches closely.
Later, Rebecca meets the charismatic Seth Gardner. As attraction grows between them, he invites her to join his Friday Folly, a group of artistic friends. But as Rebecca is drawn into the web of tangled relationships all is not as it appears. The scene is set for one climactic night that will rip the group apart. Consumed by loss and surrounded by secrets, Rebecca must now escape the grip of the Folly if she intends to survive. And meanwhile, one man continues to watch.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The stage play like structure of Guha's debut thriller, set in Britain in the 1990s, doesn't add anything to this unengaging exploration of personal relationships in the context of some kind of inquiry. There's also no payoff to the delayed revelation of the reason behind the questioning of myriad characters about their connection with a repellent man named Seth Gardner. First, Seth tries to pick up actress Rebecca Laurence in a London pub after her performance as Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. Next, he targets the shy Catherine Jarret; after hearing her play on an expensive Steinway in a store, he buys the instrument. Eventually, Catherine and Rebecca end up getting involved with a group Seth leads, the Friday Folly. Most of the book consists of the Folly members, male and female, recounting their twisted interactions with Seth, but none of the characters are sympathetic or interesting. Making a mystery of what the mystery is doesn't compensate.
