Esther Verhoef, Close-up (2010)

Denne hollandske thriller er den første roman, Verhoef har skrevet alene og under sit eget navn.

Et citat fra prologen (min oversættelse fra engelsk): 

“Mens badekarret blev fyldt, faldt mine øjne på barberkniven i etuiet. Ikke en engangsskraber, men en håndlavet ragekniv, af den slags man sommetider ser hos italienske barberer, utroligt skarp. Mit hjerte sprang et slag over, så stærk var følelsen den skarpe kniv vakte i mig, og de ideer – nye ideer – jeg fik. Men jeg rystede på hovedet. Nej. Hold dig til planen. Der er altid en næste gang.

Men ikke for Edith.”

Efter en barsk skilsmisse fra John flytter Margot ind i sin nye lejlighed og forsøger at få det bedste ud af det. I lang tid har hun følt, hun blev kvalt af sin konventionelle familie og sit ægteskab; der har ikke været plads til hendes individualitet og kreative evner.

Under en weekend i London møder Margot den fantastiske men også lidt mystiske landsmand og fotograf, Leon. Selv om hun er usikker på, hvad han er for en fyr, ringer hun til ham efter sin hjemkomst og lader ham hvirvle hende ind i hans nye, spændende verden af kunstnere.

Hun dropper sit kedelige job, kommer ud af sin triste sindsstemning og sin afhængighed af mand og familie, og læseren kan kun håbe på, hun ikke er faldet i kløerne på en dominerende mand, som måske ændrer hendes liv til det værre. Og hvad er historien bag Leons ekskæreste Ediths ´selvmord´?

Ikke mere om det spændende plot og hovedpersonen, hvis udvikling var interessant at følge. Efter min mening er der dog et enkelt minus. I en spændingsroman skal der selvfølgelig være en håndfuld mistænkte, men der var lovlig mange personer i den tætte kreds omkring Leon hvis opførsel virkede mere påfaldende end nødvendigt.

Jeg fik bogen fra Maxine, hvis anmeldelse kan læses her.   
Global Reading Challenge # 2, Europa.

HUSK: bogkonkurrence for danske læsere.


Esther Verhoef, Close-Up (2009).

This Dutch thriller is the first novel Verhoef has written on her own and under her own name.

A quotation from the prologue:

“While the bath was filling up, my eye fell on the razor in its case. Not the disposable kind, but a handmade cutthroat razor, the sort you sometimes see in Italian barber shops, extremely sharp. My heart skipped a beat, such was the feeling the sharp razor awakened in me and the ideas – new ideas – that occurred to me. Then I shook my head. No. Stick to the plan. No improvisations. There´s always a next time.
 
Not for Edith, though.”

After a tough divorce from John, Margot moves into her new flat, trying to make the best of it. For a long time she has felt smothered by her conventional family as well as John; in her former life there was no scope for individuality and creativity.

During a weekend in London Margot meets the gorgeous but intriguing country fellow and photographer, Leon. Even though she is not quite sure what kind of person he is, she calls him when she returns home and lets him whirl her into his new, exciting world of artists and jetsetters.

She gives up her boring job, snaps out of her gloom and her dependence on her husband and family, and the reader can only hope she has not fallen into the clutches of a possessive man who may turn her life from bad to worse. And what is the real story behind the ´suicide´ of Edith, Leon´s former girlfriend?

No spoilers; let me just say that in many ways this was a fine debut with an intriguing plot and a main character whose development was interesting to follow. In my opinion there was one drawback, however. I do realize that in a thriller, there have to be a handful of suspects; still, there were too many of the people in the close circle around Leon whose behaviour struck me as more mysterious than necessary.

I read the book for the Global Reading Challenge # 2 (Europe), and it was a gift from Maxine whose review you can see here.

Reminder: competition - win gift card - until Jan 21st.
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