Verity Books
Book of the Day
Staff Editor Sally Peters suggests:
One
by One
Ann Stowe
Putnam, 378 pp.
$21.95
In the tradition of Ruth Rendell’s cerebral mystery fiction, Ms. Stowe’s stunning debut novel explores a week in the life of Theo Garrity, a London bookseller who is about to discover that “dead fiction” is more than a tag phrase. Theo begins the novel a skeptic and ends the novel a believer. So finely drawn in the characterization that even the most jaded mystery buff will be rooting for Theo to overcome the forces of darkness. Ms. Stowe’s has a brilliant ear for the rhythms of everyday speech, and her descriptions of the environs in which Theo’s story take place transport the reader to London—one can almost smell the musty old books and the savory aroma of sizzling cod at the local chippie. Even the most minor characters have a life and vitality rare in a first offering. Order One by One today, and prepare to stay up all night finishing it!
