Let’s start with the occupants of the eponymous dwelling: Ted Bannerman, his cat Olivia, and sporadically his daughter Lauren. Apparently, that is, as from quite early on it is clear that nothing can be taken at face value with these unreliable narrators, that include the cat.
More reliable, you would think, is the woman who comes to rent the house next door, presumably the penultimate house on Needless Street. It is from Dee’s third person perspective that we learn of events at the nearby lake many years ago, when her sister Lulu went missing never to be found, dead or alive, since. Dee reckons Ted Bannerman is responsible, and she is out to prove it. As her narratives progress, further details of Lulu’s disappearance are revealed, along with Dee’s efforts to find her.
As for Ted, Olivia, and Lauren, clues as to their involvement can be inferred (rightly or wrongly). More importantly, clues to their relationships are not so much revealed as scattered around for the reader to make of what they can. What is for sure is that the trio don’t get on well.
The psychological
tension is built up, but the drive to turn the pages is not so much to do with
the prose or the narrative as to finally rationalise the weirdness of the book
and move on. To be fair, the denouement has its merits in terms of plotting,
and just about justifies the effort in getting there.
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