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THE POISON TREE
by Erin Kelly
Hodder & Stoughton, May 2011
368 pages
7.99 GBP
ISBN: 1444701053


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

"Every young person should have one summer they look back on for the rest of their lives. Fall in love. Get into bands, do the festivals."

This is the advice given to Karen by her father. Karen, an 'old head on young shoulders', is coming to the end of her university language degree with the prospect of a guaranteed first. She gets dumped by her conventional boyfriend and also splits up with her conventional friends (who she doesn't really like). But when she meets Biba, a free-spirited, if damaged, drama student Karen does find a summer she will look back on for the rest of her life. She will fall in love. But it won't be bands and festivals she gets into, but drugs, wild parties and murder.

Now grown-up, with a child, Karen meets Rex, Biba's brother, who has been in prison for the two murders committed that summer. They restart their relationship, making the first steps to building a life together after being so drastically parted. But Karen is nervous, twitchy about who knows where they are, far more than someone just wanting to avoid scandal of an ex-convict partner. As the book unfolds it turns out that Karen has more secrets than just a murder in her background.

This is a competent take on the 'innocent dragged into a bohemian lifestyle and death ensues' tale. (Although I do have a longing for a story where it's a madcap actress who falls in with a group of accountants, but maybe that's just me.) The bland normality of Karen's student life is well described as is the crazy, haphazard lifestyle at Biba and Rex's home in Highgate. The atmosphere and settings are well drawn, as are the main characters. However, I felt the promised deaths were a bit too random and I didn't actually care about the people who ended up dead. The twist at the end was also dealt with a bit perfunctorily for my taste.

In summary, it was well-described tale, but the actual plot and climax needed more time spending on them.

Anthea Hawdon lives in the North East of England and has spent her working life in and around the NHS; she consequently takes refuge in fiction as much as possible.

Reviewed by Anthea Hawdon, April 2011

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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