Raven - Rainow

RavenAnthony HorowitzBook ReviewsThe House of SilkMore choices from some of Rainow’s book club membersBringing back to life Arthur Conan Doyle's much revered hero, Anthony Horowitz has forged in “theHouse of Silk” a loving pastiche of Sherlock Holmes' adventures, taking care not to rock the boat of anestablished franchise and creating an unerring facsimile of Conan Doyle's opus. The game, once more,is afoot. Holmes is dead. Watson, elderly and alone – "Two marriages, three children, sevengrandchildren, a successful career in medicine and the Order of Merit" – sets out to recount one of theirearly escapades together, on a case so grotesque and deplorable he has had to consign his writtenaccount to his solicitors' vaults for 100 years. The usual cast assemble. Mrs Hudson is there with a plateof scones. Wiggins and the inauspicious Baker Street irregulars make an audacious appearance, as dothe bungling Lestrade and imperious Mycroft. Of course, no Holmes adventure would be completewithout at least a cameo appearance by the arch villain, Moriarty ("'I am a mathematician, Dr Watson …I am also what you would doubtless term a criminal'"), although his role is almost too cleverly integratedinto the story and easily missed. The most redolent character, excepting Holmes and Watson, is 19th century London, with its fog,hansom cabs and the extremes of depraved opium dens, lavish grand houses and chilling poverty. Through a series of unfeasiblyconvoluted plots, counterplots and deductions, the opposing elements collide in a shocking and gruesome denouement, which thepipe smoking, Stradivarius playing detective deals with in his archetypal, world weary and knowing manner. Whilst registering thatAnthony Horowitz lacks Conan Doyle's magisterial authority when it comes to chronicling Holmes's adventures, “The House of Silk” isa brilliant and engaging read with a sumptuous prose that both envelops and captivates the reader. It both teases and delights and iswithout doubt a fitting tribute to arguably one of the great British writers of our time who gave us the most prolific of all detectives.Elizabeth HaynesInto the Darkest Corner“Into The Darkest Corner” is a gripping psychological thriller that will have you racing to the end. Thetale may be somewhat familiar, but it's her presentation and sharply defined characters that keepsthe reader enthralled. After a brief but chilling introduction, which you will want to remember at alltimes, the core of the tale proceeds along two parallel tracks that alternate with each other throughoutthe book. Haynes uses alternating narratives to burrow into a harrowing story, which exposes thejuxtaposition between two different manifestations of the main character: the woman we encounter in2003 is far different from the one with whom we renew acquaintances in 2007. As a successful youngprofessional in the northwest of England, Catherine Bailey has a full life: a job she loves and a closeknit group of friends with whom she enjoys an active social life. When she meets the attractive andenigmatic Lee she seems to have it all – at least her envious girlfriends think so. “Isn't he just whatwe've all always wanted?” one of them asks her. Despite some alarm bells about the intensity of hisattention towards her (“The world doesn't exist for him outside you,” comments one of her friends), Catherine is pulled increasinglydeeper into the world he creates for them. However, the seemingly perfect Lee rapidly transforms into a dark and menacingpresence. Manipulative and controlling, he grows more and more violent until he nearly kills her. But the real horror, she explainslater, was that “nobody, not even my best friend, believed me.” Lee gets three years in prison and Catherine, now suffering fromobsessive-compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder, moves to London to start a new life. We see with chilling andunnerving clarity how Catherine is reduced to moving through each day as a terrorized, insecure soul, wholly given over to adisorder which controls every facet of her existence. It is the detailed and elaborate description of this affliction which is so absorbingand horrifying in equal measure, capturing as it does not only Catherine's inner torment but also drawing the reader in on a profoundand poignant level. Two things become evident as the alternating story lines develop: Catherine has somehow extricated herselffrom the relationship with Lee, and yet she is still in some danger from him. It is the resolution of both these situations, and Haynes'exquisitely paced and presented revelations, that maintains the intrigue and keeps you reading, reading and reading!Budding Author joins the RavenIn the last issue of the Raven we invited Rainow's teenagers to let us knowwhat they would like to see more of in the Raven. The giveaway prizeoffered was a bundle of Hot Vestry goodies including a CD and t-shirt.Rosie Daniels emailed us with a request for more stories in the magazineand backed up her idea by writing one herself! Not only has her initiative wonher the prize but her wish to see more stories is fulfilled in this issue as wepublish the tale she wrote on page 11. With her writing skills and interest inmagazine work proved, we invited Rosie to join the editorial team of theRaven and are delighted she has accepted.We invite other Rainow young people to have a go at letting us know whatthey want by writing to theraven@rainow.com.123456789The Answers toWhere is it? on Page 13Clough House, (near the OneHouse, on the Green Lane)Calrofold BarnPlunge BrookRainow LowMount PleasantBowerclough Farm, HedgerowKerridge EndKerridge EndPlunge Brook.18