If not for the Tylenol Cough & Sore Nighttime I was forced to take, I think I would’ve stayed up until the wee hours of the morning finishing OBEDIENCE, the debut novel from Will Lavender. Its mysteries are just that compelling.
Its instantly intoxicating setup hatches in the Winchester College classroom of Logic and Reasoning 204, taught by the mysterious, low-profile Prof. Williams. He walks in and tells his students that in six weeks – unless they can do something about it – a girl will be murdered.
He doles out only the briefest of details, starting with her name: Polly. Prior to each session, Williams feeds them more information via e-mail, regarding the crime’s time, place, motive and circumstance. As the situation grows more dire for the hypothetical Polly, a few students get too obsessed with the project: smart good girl Mary, her ex-boyfriend Dennis and troubled loner Brian.
One day, a photographic clue makes the situation too personal for comfort for Mary, and the line between reality and pretend is blurred. After all, this assignment is just that: only an assignment. Right?
I can’t blame them for becoming so consumed. Williams’ lectures – and by virtue, Lavender’s chapters – raise so many questions that the overall mystery becomes compounded and more twisted. Imagine if Jigsaw from the SAW films were a tenured academic. But instead of having the subjects dropped into a vat of pig offal or rusty needles, the terror here is all psychological. Alfred Hitchcock would’ve snapped up the rights to this like a plate of veal.
OBEDIENCE is a fiendishly clever thriller, debut or no, and Lavender exhibits deft control of the wheel. What you think are major plotholes are rendered moot by the time he wraps up the narrative, making the reader as much a pawn as Williams’ students. The coda, which jumps back nearly 50 years, offers one final cunning blow. Never mind how Lavender was able to produce something this terrific right out of the gate; instead, wonder how he possibly can top it. –Rod Lott
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the kind words about my book, Rod.
This site is tremendous. I am ALWAYS looking for book reviews and discussions of literature. One can find Paris Hilton ephemera in a Google instant, but a good books site is nearly impossible. I hit the bookstore an embarrassing number of times a week, and I usually know exactly what I want when I go in from reading reviews and such. Bookgasm went right into my Bookmarks when my publicist sent me this link.
Keep up the good work,
Will Lavender
Oh my. Yet ANOTHER one to add to my wishlist. I think that happens every single time I drop by. This one sounds particularly up my alley—I love this sort of set-up.
Picked this up at the local Borders based on the enthusiastic review. Sounds absolutely great.
I hope you like it. I can totally see it ending up being one of my favorites of the year.