I’ve recently read all of Mark West’s dark thrillers from The Book Folks, and was happy to discover that his latest novel “To See Too Much” is up there with the best of them.
It’s narrated by Carrie: a social worker recovering from a heart attack. She heads to Miller’s Point – a small cluster of quaint cottages on the coast – to convalesce, planning a gentle time of sea air and walks on the beach, but the other residents turn out to be an intriguing and unsettling bunch.
She accidentally overhears a couple of heated exchanges, and somewhat bored and restless, becomes drawn into watching the lives of her temporary neighbours. Discovering broken marriages and professional scandals along the way, Carrie soon realises that Miller’s Point is full of tension and dark secrets. And some people are not happy with her watchful presence.
When a local woman goes missing and a corpse turns up on the beach nearby, Carrie realises that she’d be better off well away from all this, but feels bound to do the right thing and help some of the new acquaintances she has made.
Carrie is a great narrator: pleasant, strong and intelligent (like many of Mark West’s previous protagonists) so it’s easy to invest. Her social work background means she is an astute reader of the human condition, and also instinctive when it comes to perceiving threat. And she certainly sees plenty of that as we are carried along by her sharp curiosity and suspicions.
The author is a master of building menace and that is perfectly escalated here. The story begins with occasional and subtle moments of unease – the odd glance or awkward exchange – then slowly cranks the apprehension as unpleasant things start to happen.
The narrated prose is clean and effortless to read, dappled with lovely turns of phrase, and the dialogue always feels real. There’s a depth and fragility to the characters, and I love the way everyone has secrets and is a bit weird, broken or hard work in some way. Because, aren’t we all? The character dynamics and interactions are convincing and full of deft touches, which is a good job because “To See Too Much” is very much a character driven piece.
Miller’s Point is part of the traditional but faded British seaside resort of Seagrave: a fictional location of the author’s that has featured in several of his previous novels. Although I was pleased at the prospect of a revisit, it’s a little different this time. We don’t see much of the town, the tale concentrating upon the dysfunctional microcosm of Miller’s Point, and the book is all the better for this tight and somewhat claustrophobic focus.
There’s fun whodunitry to be had should you wish to try and deduce the real villains of the piece, and it all builds to a gripping, violent and satisfying finale that had me glued to the page as everything fell into place.
One of the many things I love about this author’s novels is that I can relax in the knowledge that I’m not going to be disappointed or feel cheated in any way. With touches of Rear Window, “To See Too Much” is a page-turner that requires no cheap shot fireworks to keep us hooked and I eagerly look forward to Mark West’s next work.
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