Lead Review
- Book: A Knock at the Door
- Location: New York State, Rome
- Author: Tom Wood
Jem Talhoffer and her businessman husband, Leo, have crafted the perfect, tranquil life in upstate New York. The couple complement each other: Leo is a handsome, outgoing entrepreneur who runs his wine-importing business and, while he is away, the more reserved Jem enjoys her yoga classes and renovating their large country house. The book is mostly written in the first person, and we share Jem’s thoughts as she reflects on her good fortune in meeting him all those years ago in Rome, knowing that they are the perfect match, with no need of other people to make their lives complete. Then one day, just as Leo has departed on a trip to Europe, there’s a knock at the door. Two strangers tell her that her husband isn’t who she thinks he is, and Jem’s world is overturned. Just as she is adjusting to this bombshell, the phone rings and another stranger tells her, “Run!”
A Knock at the Door is both gripping and genuinely entertaining, with contrasting characters that you immediately either dislike or adore. The gentle humour in the dialogue is the perfect foil for the tension that builds right from the start, as we follow Jem through a crazy 24 hours that catapults both her and the reader through baffling mysteries, terrifying ordeals and the eventual heart-breaking resolution. It is quickly clear that Jem is no superhero, but rather an average woman who is fraught with anxiety, and initially unequal to the life-threatening situation that she is suddenly faced with.
Soon after that knock at the door, several things become clear to Jem: that her life is in danger, that nobody is quite what they seem, and everyone is lying. But why? What is the truth and is there anyone at all that she can trust? She begins to question everything that she has been certain of in her life and has to call on reserves of strength and courage as never before. Escaping from her first ordeal, she finds herself facing a second challenge and wonders whether her judgment was correct – is she in fact running from the very people who have been sent to protect her? Why does everyone seem to be a threat when they are claiming to be on her side? Eventually, she has to put her faith in a complete stranger; the only one who seems to take things at face value and speak sense.
The supporting cast of characters in A Knock at the Door is beautifully observed, each with their own quirky ways. There’s Rusty, the pot-smoking local chief of police; Trevor, the passing recluse who comes to Jem’s aid, and Dana, possibly the sassiest bar tender in the county. Even Merlin the dog is a memorable pen portrait of a grumpy, backwoods canine. The hick police chief with a deadbeat staff who appear unequal to the task of solving a major crime are somewhat reminiscent of the characters in Fargo, but for me that’s a good thing and Ellis’s plot is nevertheless original and gripping, with many twists to the tale. The denouement is enough to make you question your own assumptions throughout the book and is cleverly contrived. This is a pacy thriller that is surprising and pleasing in equal measure.
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