Island Book

Nikki Black owes nobody anything. She's hard, selfish, hurt and vengeful. If only she could stop having the Fear and falling from one disaster to the next, she could possibly succeed. But a childhood in erratic care has made her unable to retain a hold on life and when she decides at 28 to kill the mother who left her on the steps of Camden Post Office as a baby, she gains a clean, clear vindictive purpose. Since the preface of Jane Rogers' sixth novel is a local news report of the murder, the tale is less a suspense novel than a whydunnit, setting off at a cracking pace, as Nikki describes her alienation from "the mummied and daddied kids" and her fury at being constantly rejected by her carers. "She made me this; the one you can walk away from". When Nikki traces her mother to a remote and dismal Scottish island, she discovers that she has "a special half-wit of a brother", called Calum, who's like "something that's been grown in the dark, forced, like rhubarb under a flowerpot". Nikki rents a room in her mother's house to snoop and plan the most effective means of murder. Rogers' mordantly smooth humour becomes less vicious as Nikki befriends the fearless and lonely Calum. He tells her the history of the island through folktales that connect to Nikki's untapped inner world and rescue her from her own island of isolation and jealous rage. Island is a compelling and chilling morality tale whose themes of redemption and loss are subtle and poignant. --Cherry SmythRead More