English writer Tom Rob Smith (Child 44) offers a disarming twist on the chilling psychological thriller genre with The Farm, set mainly on a somewhat desolate farm in rural southern Sweden.
Daniel is living an uneventful life in London with his partner, Mark, when he receives a frantic phone call from his father, Chris: "Your mother... she's not well.... She's been imagining things." Daniel decides to fly to Sweden, but then he receives a one-word e-mail from his mother, Tilde: "Daniel!" Then another call from his father telling him she's discharged herself from the hospital in which he'd placed her. He insists she's making accusations against him and none of them are true. Another call comes from his mother who says everything Chris has said is a lie, and she's flying to London.
The Farm is a book of voices: Daniel's narration, then his mother's. She reveals that she and Chris were well-off but then lost most of their money, which they kept secret. She thinks Chris has been corrupted by their neighbor in Sweden, whose adopted daughter is missing. Tilde is convinced Chris is involved and that they want to keep her quiet. She has proof; her satchel contains "evidence." Piece by piece, her desperate story unfolds. Daniel is confused, skeptical. He wants to believe her, but can all this really be true?
The competing voices are compelling, confusingly layered with truth and conjecture. Part mystery and part confession, The Farm is filled with secrets. It fascinates, it puzzles. Take a deep breath and dive in with an open mind. --Tom Lavoie, former publisher