There is a lot going on and there is a wide cast of characters but it does not in any way feel like a difficult read. It is engaging, accessible and fluent.
Minett makes life very easy for the reader with very clear headings at the start of each chapter - either Now or Earlier (yes, there's a dual timeline to cope with too!) and the date, and then the name of the character we are now following. The characters change within each section but again, even though their voices are distinctive and different, a name is provided. I found this immensely helpful as I was reading at such a pace it meant I wasn't distracted, confused or forced to retrace my steps at any point to make sense of who was talking and when. In fact, drawing attention to the dates and names actually made me pay more attention to chronology and encouraged me to try to start to put the jigsaw of clues together (which I totally failed on, obvs!).
The main character Owen is a really well crafted protagonist. Minett captures his awkward social and emotional personality with conviction. Owen is obsessed with numbers - their reliability and their consistency offer him a sense of calm and control. He reduces almost any situation into a sum, the answer then providing a decision or assurance of his next actions. Although intriguing, Owen evokes a huge sense of empathy from the reader in the opening prologue as he is obviously so clearly affected by the shocking disappearance of Julie from his taxi. But as the novel progresses I found myself in a continual dilemma about this character; innocent? Guilty? Victim? Perpetrator?
Whatever you think, there is a definite sense that this man could potentially become volatile, menacing or dangerous. I liked that. Never quite knowing what a character might do or what they might be capable of creates a huge amount of suspense and tension.
Minett makes life very easy for the reader with very clear headings at the start of each chapter - either Now or Earlier (yes, there's a dual timeline to cope with too!) and the date, and then the name of the character we are now following. The characters change within each section but again, even though their voices are distinctive and different, a name is provided. I found this immensely helpful as I was reading at such a pace it meant I wasn't distracted, confused or forced to retrace my steps at any point to make sense of who was talking and when. In fact, drawing attention to the dates and names actually made me pay more attention to chronology and encouraged me to try to start to put the jigsaw of clues together (which I totally failed on, obvs!).
The main character Owen is a really well crafted protagonist. Minett captures his awkward social and emotional personality with conviction. Owen is obsessed with numbers - their reliability and their consistency offer him a sense of calm and control. He reduces almost any situation into a sum, the answer then providing a decision or assurance of his next actions. Although intriguing, Owen evokes a huge sense of empathy from the reader in the opening prologue as he is obviously so clearly affected by the shocking disappearance of Julie from his taxi. But as the novel progresses I found myself in a continual dilemma about this character; innocent? Guilty? Victim? Perpetrator?
Whatever you think, there is a definite sense that this man could potentially become volatile, menacing or dangerous. I liked that. Never quite knowing what a character might do or what they might be capable of creates a huge amount of suspense and tension.