Freezing

by Penelope Evans

Freezing originally published by Transworld is now available as an e book exclusively on Kindle.In her first thriller, The Last Girl, Penelope Evans created a memorable monster--and earned herself strong praise from the likes of Ruth Rendell and Penelope Fitzgerald. In her second book, Evans gives us an even more original central Stewart Park, an odd, ugly, very innocent, and ultimately most sympathetic young man who works as a morgue photographer. He becomes obsessed with the frozen body of a fragile blonde drowning "They must have rolled her onto the bank. River police. Everyday sort of work for them, people in the water. But not usually so recent. They would have taken one look at her and tried everything-- mouth to mouth, heart massage, volts of electric--everything short of shaking the life back into her.... She was beautiful. Is it all right to say that? That is what she was--beautiful. Her mouth was wide, and despite all those kisses on the river bank, unimpressed. You could trace every vein in her eyelids. There was even a faint hint of color in her cheeks. The river had done no more than wet her and take her breath away. So why not put her back in the river, and maybe the breath will return to her?" His fascination with the dead girl causes Park to put himself at considerable risk by trying to find out who she was and how she died. And Evans has such a sure grasp on the sadly mundane details of this outwardly bizarre life that we're with him every step of the way.Said of Times (London) dubbed a "minor masterpiece."Readers reviews see also the amazon.com web site.Other comments about the author - "The best psychological thriller I've read for years" Jane Gardam. 'Uneasily funny, sad and terrifying. I read the book very quickly, hardly daring to put it down" Lesley Glaister. For more about Penelope Evans and her books see www.penelopeevans.co.uk

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kein Wunder wieso niemand diese Scheiß liest

[Woody Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading Len Deighton's "Winter" during a recent foray to Harrisburg & when I came across a used copy of this book at Midtown Bookstore during a recent cold snap, I thought that it would make an apropos double-header.

Review quotes on the cover include verbiage such as: "Quirky"; "Strange"; "weird" & "haunting" so I knew that I was going to be in for something different. I thrive on different.

It is set in London, but the characters seemed like they would fit right in in Irvine Welsh's Edinburgh. Stuart, the protagonist, is a morgue photographer (!) with a stutter and although I hesitate to refer to him as an "unreliable narrator" (yes, I was an undergrad ENGLit major with departmental honors), he fits the bill. His family is likewise a group of oddballs, including his father, with whom he lives; his sister and her two sons, his nephews.

Stuart is into an online fantasy game and often the line between fantasy & reality becomes blurred. He also becomes fixated on one of his morgue photo subjects, which is what drives the plot of this one.

It was certainly strange, but again, I thrive on strange.

[Ann Repetto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very unusual. Liked it a lot. Toward the end one scene drug out a little too long but otherwise the tempo was great. Very imaginative.

[Kimber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good mystery / suspense novel set in modern day London. Evans is a great writer and I was completely bemused by and impressed with her main character, Stuart Park, a morgue photographer and an atypical, deviant sleuth who seems to perpetrate more crimes than he solves. He was both sympathetic and horrific. His judgement, or lack thereof, reminded me a little bit of a high-functioning Karl Childers (Slingbade). I was delighted with the story until the last two or three pages; I found the ending quite disappointing.

[Rin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The review is misleading - I wouldn't say his "real life" is lived while playing a computer game, nor is the game "sinister". It's intriguing because we get a glimpse into what it's like inside a different person's head. And I mean different, because Stewart isn't an average guy.
I enjoyed it a lot, though it's certainly not a breezy, happy read.

[Linda]

I haven't rated this book because I only read about a quarter of it. I didn't like it, but not because it wasn't well written - what I read was very well written. I just found it too creepy. I think it would be described as a psychological thriller, and I find them very difficult to read. For people who enjoy that kind of book it's probably a really good one.

[Frank McAdam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dysfunctional morgue attendant sets off to discover the identity of a beautiful unclaimed female cadaver.

I really wanted to like this offbeat book, but the plot is threadbare and the character development forced. One feels the author is deliberately trying to make the story as quirky as possible in order to compensate for its almost total lack of suspense.

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite creepy. Because the reader sees the whole story through Stewarts eyes and because he has somewhat altered perception most of the twists and turns came as a complete surprise. I felt sorry for him and repulsed by him in equal measures, yet on the whole he wasn't a bad man, just damaged.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprising book. Not necessarily a good surprise, mind. But got me to question my own assumptions, presumptions, and that 's never a bad thing