The Clearing
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
“A dark and atmospheric psychological thriller, full of intrigue, terror and superstition, which examines our deep fear of the unknown” (Gumshoe Review).
With the eerie thrills of Dean Koontz, Dan Newman’s seething suspense reveals the part a man played in a murder—and the guilt that continues to haunt him . . .
When his father commits suicide, Nate travels back to St. Lucia, the land where he was raised as an outsider, tolerated but not accepted. As a boy, he would venture out to the plantation of Ti Fenwe with three friends. The estate was surrounded on all sides by dense jungle, where the boys would go exploring, their only rule to be back in the house before nightfall. Something ancient was known to stalk the jungle—its reputation more horrifying than the boys could comprehend. But it was a very real enemy who changed the boys forever and snuffed out a life.
Decades later, Nate comes back to finally gain a measure of peace over his role in the killing—and to uncover the deadly secrets of St. Lucia once and for all.
“Told in lush, hypnotic prose that perfectly mirrors its mysterious Caribbean landscape, The Clearing is one man’s quest for the brutal truth at the heart of his deadly self-deception . . . An intoxicating, important debut.” —Laura Benedict, author of The Stranger Inside
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nate Mason, the hero of Newman's tepid debut, returns to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, which he left in 1976 after an adventuresome outing with three friends turned deadly. Scenes from Nate's boyhood reveal that Nate, the son of a Canadian development worker, and Pip, the son of a Dutch diplomat, were the outsiders in a quartet that included Tristan, the son of wealthy Vincent De Villers, and Tristan's cousin Richard, who died on that long-ago outing. Back on St. Lucia after 30 years away, Nate connects with island journalist Smiley Edwin, who's compiled a dossier for him on Richard's death. Nate's return brings back memories of tales of the Bolom, a legendary island bogeyman, and also prompts someone to physically attack him. Gradually, the link between Richard's death and the fates of the other friends becomes clear. Newman's tale of human arrogance and supernatural forces is too insipid to inspire much dread or interest.