PanThe Standard (UK)Double Blind is an ambitious novel of big ideas about genetic determinism, heritability, the usefulness of psychotherapy, the effects of climate change and the role of technology in neuroscience. Then there are the old favourites: the allure of great wealth, glamorous locations and mind-altering Class A drugs, all of which continue to enthral St Aubyn ... There are more threads and characters in an increasingly unsatisfactory story, including a pompous cardinal, a naive Franciscan monk and a bleakly deterministic oncologist, who are further foils for St Aubyn’s big ideas ... His sharp ear for dialogue and his observation of people’s behaviour hover between funny, disdainful and downright sneering - he always was a snob - while his evocation of smoking heroin is nothing less than a full-on seduction ... His prose can be mesmerising at times, but not when his characters veer into rambling interior monologues about consciousness and the creation of the universe. That’s just showing off - and the ending is a washout. The problem remains that in Melrose, St Aubyn succeeded in transforming his own traumatic life experience into something extraordinarily and powerfully convincing, and it may be, quite simply, that he is incapable of doing that with the lives of anyone else but himself.
Lars Kepler, tr. Neil Smith
RaveThe Evening Standard (UK)As with the previous books, Lazarus is written in the fast and furiously paced present in short, bitty chapters that move quickly between characters and scenes to ramp up tension. This gives them an intense, cinematic feel ... Characters, even minor ones, are well-developed and credibly flawed with painful pasts. The plot is pretty twisty too, so why these books haven’t been turned into mainstream movies or a TV boxed set is anyone’s guess. Surely Scandi noir hasn’t had its day quite yet? ... While Lazarus can be read as a standalone, it’s more enjoyable when read as a sequel to The Sandman. But be warned: it’s pretty bloodthirsty. I lapped it up.
Martin Amis
MixedEvening Standard (UK)... it’s another erratic, rollercoasting and frankly self-regarding memoir, notwithstanding that the names of some real people have been tweaked ... Narratively and chronologically it’s a mash-up, with Amis lurching between first and third person, and back and forth in time ... Round and round it goes for 520 pages, except in one respect. At the heart of the book is a linear march towards the big topic: death ... Amis paints a brilliant portrait of his friend as principled, entertaining, fiercely bright, and rather nicer than \'Little Keith\' himself ... There are many memorable scenes—Amis, now 71 was never one to stint on melodrama—but Inside Story is too long, too repetitive, too lacking in cohesion and just too self-indulgent ... The late 20th century glittering intellectual bubble to which he did—and still does—belong is beginning to feel like a long way away.
Joanna Briscoe
PanThe Evening Standard (UK)There’s often a moment in a novel when the story turns from being vaguely credible to downright preposterous, and unfortunately that moment comes early on ... One thing leads to another and soon Beth and her therapist are meeting up for illicit drinks and dinners, Dr B now dressing in slinky outfits, with high heels, painted lips and a line in seductive chat that puts pick-up artists to shame. Beth starts to feel increasingly ostracised at home both by hubby Sol, and Fern, who says things like \'Don’t flip your shit\' and \'Holy crap.\' Is that really how 13-year-olds speak these days? And I’ll eat my hat if the scene in which Beth and Dr B eventually get down and almost dirty isn’t nominated for the Bad Sex Award. Domestic noir has a tendency to be silly, but this is absolutely nuts.
Richard Ford
RaveEvening Standard (UK)Ford’s idiosyncratic style conveys his characters’ bafflements, both with each other and themselves, and sentences demand careful reading and occasional rereading. Yet what rewards! The writing is full of the most marvellous gems, absolute truths that linger long after finishing the stories ... That’s always been Ford’s gift: to say such things with such stark clarity. And he does it here superbly.
Stephen King
PositiveThe Evening Standard (UK)[The title story] is way too predictable and not nearly nasty enough to raise a goose bump, even if King’s exploration of Holly’s character, through her relationship with her difficult mother, is nicely done ... The Life of Chuck [is] clever and ends with a good sharp kick ... Such glimpses into King’s own mind are riveting and satisfyingly terrifying. Read the book for this.
Lily King
RaveThe Evening Standard (UK)... engaging ... King’s writing is spirited, clever and funny, and her novel is better than most others you’ll read this year. But perhaps Casey’s previous boyfriend Paco, who once told her that she hates men, had a point.
