The Shadow Before

by Leslie Purnell Davies, L.P. Davies (AKA)

Lester Dunn led a rather drab, unremarkable life as the owner of a not very prosperous pharmacy in a not very prosperous affluent London neighborhood. Grant Livesey lived a life of quiet luxury well-appointed house in the country. Yet, Lester Dunn and Grant Lievesy appeared to be the same person. Could the brain operation performed on Dunn have changed him into Livesey? Could one of his existences be merely a dream? Or could it be a frightening premonition of a disaster he was fated to bring upon himself?

Here is L. P. Davies at the top of his form, weaving dream and reality into a masterful tale of suspense and illusion. A tale of psychological suspense in which a dull pharmacist and a prosperous investor seem to be the same person. He wonders whether one of his existences is only a dream, and which one. What at first appears to be a purely intellectual mystery turns into a clever crime story. — quoted from the inside front cover flap.

Then he was standing in the place which had been the focal point of the dream. A dream that had been something much more than just an ordinary dream. A dream that was intruding upon real life, that refused to be dislodged from the forefront of his mind, that was like a ghost that must be laid — that would continue to plague him remorselessly until it had been laid.

But was it really just a dream? Could its ghost be laid before it became a terrifying reality?

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Pseudonyms: Leslie Vardre, L.P. Davies, Leo Barne, Robert Blake, R. Bridgeman, Morgan Evans, Ian Jefferson, Lawrence Peters, Thomas Phillips, G.K. Thomas and Rowland Welch.

Leslie Purnell Davies was a British novelist whose works typically combine elements of horror, science fiction and mystery. He also wrote many short stories under several pseudonyms.

Davies' books deal with the defects, evolution or manipulation of human consciousness, and in some ways are comparable to the works of Philip K. Dick. His protagonists frequently suffer from amnesia or other loss of identity, and their quest to find out who they really are drives the plot.

(adapted from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Paul Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Barrie & Jenkins] (1971). HB/DJ. 1/1. Review Copy. 184 Pages. Purchased from BoundlessBookstore.

A circuitous, criminous story with supernatural (precognition) elements. Original and entertaining.

“…during normal sleep the subconscious doodles - for want of a better word - helping itself at random to the stored memories, assembling the various items in a haphazard fashion producing a dream that is disjointed and lacks sense.” (p. 127.)

[Harry Turnbull · Rating 3 out of 5]

LP Davies is one of the greatly under-rated writers of scifi with a psychological twist. Many of his protagonists awake having no idea who they are. Clever, mysterious and nuanced. This is an early effort in which you can see a developing craft. He used to be a pharmacist in Colwyn Bay you know.

[Marilyn Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book every 15 years or so when enough time has passed to have forgotten most of the plot. Davies specializes in novels involving dislocations of time, memory loss and the individual's effort to discover the truth about himself. Some are hopelessly dated in the computer age, but this is my favorite, involving brain surgery and an ingenious robbery. There is tension throughout and an unexpected ending.