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Thorn is an atypical psychosomatic thriller by Vena Cork. The real triumph for the author lies in the fact that with this intriguing debut novel, she has succeeded in making her reader quiver in fear with the delicate twirls in the storyline, mourn in grief at the plight of the Thorn family, and derive a sense of sadistic pleasure when the guilty is finally punished. A compact narrative teamed with a nail-biting finish, Thorn is a sensational piece of writing.
Cork’s central characters Rosa, Anna, and Danny are very real, and this is a major contributor to the success of Thorn. That’s because the reader can identify closely with the protagonist and believe that whatever is happening in the life of Rosa Thorn can happen to any one of us!
The story begins with a tragedy. Rosa Thorn’s painter husband Rob is killed in an accident and quite naturally that leaves the Thorn family in a state of shock – it changes their life irretrievably. At a time when the young widow is trying to muddle through the bereavement and thinking of ways to strengthen her financial position as a single mother, she is forced to take cognizance of the fact that there is an intimacy stalker on the prowl. And the target of the demented maniac is Rosa’s daughter Anna. The stalker seems to find novel ways of intimidating the Thorn family at the slightest pretext. The traumatic events surrounding Anna will leave you dazed— she is victimized in more ways than one — by the peer group in school, by incessant stalking in the neighborhood, and by being the hapless target of a delinquent’s obsession at home. The empathetic teenager with a soft corner for animals is forced to witness ghastly incidents even at her pet cemetery, and that is bound to leave you jittery.
When one of Anna’s acquaintances is brutally murdered in the neighborhood, the police are convinced that this is the doing of an uncanny, distorted mind — a serial killer. The introduction of Inspector Tom Brice of the Area Murder Investigation Team (AMIT), who agrees to reside as a paying guest with the Thorns, seems to have a momentary therapeutic affect on the close-knit family. Tom’s sharp observation skills, sense of wit, and caring nature make him a convincing character in the Thorn family. However, it seems that the Thorns are perpetually cursed coz every time you think that the worst is over, something even more dangerous and eerie happens that forces this household back to a state of misery.
Thorn is full of enthralling twists and turns. Cork’s style of storytelling is like that of a seasoned author in this genre. If you are a mystery buff, you are bound to find Thorn arresting, insightful, and compelling. The only thing about the novel, which I find a wee bit surprising, is its title. Perhaps a title other than Thorn would be more befitting a novel as gripping, discerning, and riveting as this.
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Vena Cork is originally from Lancashire, but has lived in London all her adult life. She attended Homerton College, Cambridge, where she was a member of Cambridge Footlights. She is married to the art critic Richard Cork and lives in north west London.
Courtesy: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
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Review by M Bhaduri
Designed by Subhadip Mukherjee
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