In the Spider's House - Sarah Diamond

In the Spider's House

Sarah Diamond

Felony & Mayhem, Apr 7 2015, $14.95

ISBN: 9781631940309

Due to his boss demanding they move to Abbots Newton in Dorset if he wants to remain employed, Carl and Anna Howell leave the big city to rusticate in a small village; a locale notoriously renowned for the 1960s tweener murderess Rebecca Fisher.  When Anna learns that Fisher once lived in their new home, she feels motivated to find out more about the ten year old killer who slayed her BFF; as she believes she could turn this decades-old tragedy into a novel.

However, Anna’s inquiries upset the villagers who prefer to forget this horrific homicide.  As the newcomer uncovers shocking information, the locals threaten her if she does not immediately end her endeavor.  Feeling a deep compulsion to continue and ignore the increasingly dangerous provocations aimed at her; obsessed Anna begins to believe what really happened is radically different from what was reported to have happened.

Unstable Anna and the reactions of the villagers she alienates with her investigation turn In the Spider's House into a taut psychological thriller.  Although one-dimensional Carl detracts from an otherwise tense suspense by what he does not do; the audience wonders whether Anna’s obsession is causing her to reach a false conclusion or uncovering an inconvenient truth.

Harriet Klausner