The
Farm is a
psychological thriller in the vein of Gone
Girl or Tana French’s novels. Daniel lives in London and his parents have
retired to what he believes is a bucolic life on a remote farm in Sweden. His father calls him and suddenly everything
changes.
Your mother...she's not well, his father tells him. She's
been imagining things - terrible, terrible things.
His father says his mother
has had a psychotic breakdown and has been committed to a mental hospital. So Daniel
rushes to Heathrow to fly to see her. Before boarding he gets a call from his
mother who says:
Everything
that man has told you is a lie. I’m not
mad. . . Meet me at Heathrow. If you
refuse to believe me, I will no longer consider you my son.
Tilde, Daniel’s mother, says his
father is involved in a criminal conspiracy and wants her out of the way. Who
can Daniel believe? Tilde carefully lays
out a strange tale packed with facts that may or may not prove her allegations.
Daniel, too, is harboring a secret – he’s never told his parents that he’s
gay. Smith, known for his espionage
thrillers set in Russia, takes a new tack with this riveting tale of trolls, elk,
strangely carved wood, and the darkness of Sweden. Smith’s Child 44 trilogy is a superb trio of espionage tales but this
stand-alone might just top them all.
This is a short review as revealing too much of the
tale will rob the reader of delightfully diabolical discoveries. I’ve included
a link to an interview with the author on National Public Radio. Read it AFTER you read the novel – not before.
Summing it Up: Devour this suspense-filled thriller
and watch your mind spin as you try to surmise just who’s telling the
truth. What would you do if your mother
and father, whom you’ve always trusted, told you conflicting tales? Could your gentle father be a criminal or is
your strong mother imagining it all?
Caveat: This is one of the books involved in the
fight between Amazon and Hachette Publishing which means that it’s probably
going to be less expensive to purchase or download The Farm from independent bookstores or other sites as Amazon is
currently selling it with no discount. Many independent bookstores are offering
deep discounts on Hachette titles so shop carefully.
Rating: 5 stars
Category: Gourmet, Chinese Carryout, Book Club, Fiction, Five Stars, Mysteries and Thrillers
Publication date: June 3, 2014
Interview with the Author (Listen to or read this AFTER your
read the book): http://www.npr.org/2014/06/09/319542618/the-farm-is-a-terrifying-break-from-reality-or-is-it
What Others are Saying:
The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-farm-by-tom-robsmith-book-review-9112825.html
Publishers Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-446-55073-4
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