Breakheart Hill

Although I am no stranger to the books of Thomas H. Cook, nothing I previously read prepared me for the emotional roller coaster journey I took while I read this title. The opening lines of the book, "This is the darkest story I have ever heard," certainly rings true as Cook takes his readers on a time machine ride back to Choctaw, Alabama in the year 1962. And what the reader finally learns on this journey in the last few pages will have them aggreeing that Thomas Cook is the the master of a genre hard to categorize. At first glance one assumes that he is a mystery author while a second glance has you thinking he writes psychologial studies dealing with the relationships of people and what pure and simple evil does to their lives. And some readers may even think that Cook borders on being a thriller witer. Whatever your conclusions, its safe to say that a Cook book will have you reading late into the night. And even once you've finished, you will continue to wonder about the plot and characters for a long time.Middle aged, married and the father of one daughter. Ben is troubled by an incident which occured 30 years ago. As he relates the story and finally the truth, all sorts of issues have been explored. Among them adolescent love, integration, the question of parentage, standing up for what you believe, deception and finally hatred. As the reader finds himself immersed in the lives and events of this town and what did occur on Breakheart Hill, the question of who did it becomes secondary. For it is the telling of the events leading up to and the aftermath of this event which keep you turning the pages in breakneck speed. And the last few pages were so riveting and unexpected, that I found myself going back and rereading them to make sure I understood everything. And even as I closed the book I stil had some nagging thoughts and unanswered questions which I continue to think about.Do read this if you're looking for a "can't put it down" title. But don't blame me if you can't get anything else done until you finish this very good book.And finally other books I would recommend by this author are The Chatham School Affair and Places in the Dark, Cook's newest title.

I must confess when my sister threw me a copy of the book I wasn't really interested and it was reluctantly that I heeded her gushing praise and began the book. I'm not to going to mention the story but simply say that this book is mesmerising. Think of every adjective to describe the words haunting, evocative, beautiful and brilliant and you might come close to how good this book really is. It demands to be read.

Breakheart Hill is the story of Kelli Troy, the new high school student from Baltimore, whose badly beaten and battered body is found on Breakheart Hill in Choctaw, Alabama. This is an amazing story, told in a series of flashbacks by the town doctor, Ben Wade, of how the lives of Kelli's friends and acquaintances were changed forever, by this incident. The writing both eloquent and riveting pulls you into the story and never lets you go. The characters are beautifully drawn and developed and the scenes, so vivid, they jump off the page. This is a powerful, compelling story of love, loss and betrayal with an unexpected climax and ending that will keep you thinking about this novel for a long, long time. Breakheart Hill is a masterpiece of suspenseful storytelling. Read it...you won't be disappointed.

Possibly the most extraordinary aspect of Breakheart Hill is Cook's ability to lace a tale of normality with an unexpected hint of the sinister. Reading this deceptively simple, yet oddly haunting, retro-tale of a school crush with a tragic twist is like listening to a favourite tape over and over, and then gradually realizing that the hissing in the background isn't static, but the whispering of ghosts. And just as you think you've second-guessed Cook's direction, he wrenches the narrative, deftly bending the story around a blind corner, turning it virtually inside-out, to leave you stunned, and flicking back through the book to see precisely where he managed to switch decks on you. The beauty being, of course, that he didn't. If Breakheart Hill is your first meeting with Thomas Cook, chances are -- like I've discovered -- it won't be your last.