Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
The Man From Primrose Lane book review : Meta murder mystery mayhem.
Some books are a pain to review. The Man From Primrose Lane is such a book. 99% of the pleasure of reading it is discovering the swerve-balls and twists it has to throw your way. They start about a chapter in, and don’t let-up until the final page, which has you turning back hurriedly to the start to go, “Ah-haaaa!”
About three chapters in, you may think you’ve got it sussed. You’re probably wrong. You’ll definitely reassess your beliefs after the first “interlude” and the unexpected appearance of a giant frog.
It starts with the murder of the Man From Primrose Lane (as the locals call him), a recluse with a love of mittens, living in Ohio. This piques the interest of one-time investigative reporter (and now pretty much a depressive recluse himself) David Neff. Then things get really strange, really quickly.
Written by a real-life investigative journalist with a clear love of Stephen King and movie in-jokes, the book is certainly engrossing, entertainingly complex and worth a read. On the other hand, it’s so plot-lead that the characters feel like mere pawns, with any traits they may have merely being handy for the narrative, and the revelations occasionally feel less satisfying than the set-up.
It’s enjoyable guff while you’re reading, but ultimately you may feel like it’s a lot of impressive smoke and mirrors, disguising a plot that actually you’ve seen or read a number of time before.
Dave Golder twitter.com/DaveGolder
Read more of our book reviews .
