The Tinderbox

by Jo Bannister

The haunting new novel from an acclaimed crime writer - Laurence Schofield's world was torn apart when his teenage daughter vanished. No trace was ever found. But six years later, a TV crew filming in London records a few seconds' footage of a girl who just could be her. Schofield heads for the capital. But this isn't the London of the tourist brochures: it's the Tinderbox, an area of dangerous dereliction where the homeless have created an alternative society with its own rules . . .

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction

202 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2006

About the author

Jo Bannister lives in Northern Ireland, where she worked as a journalist and editor on local newspapers. Since giving up the day job, her books have been shortlisted for a number of awards. Most of her spare time is spent with her horse and dog, or clambering over archaeological sites. She is currently working on a new series of psychological crime/thrillers.

Reviews

[Deloneva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. I wish we’d gotten a better, more detailed answer to the big question, but the development of the relationship between Laurence and Jonah was a delight to follow. This book has made me a little less eager to visit London, but I suppose it can’t all be tea and crumpets.

[JB · Rating 5 out of 5]

a stand alone but leaves you wanting to know what happened next. Another excellent book by Jo Bannister.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of Bannister's best, and too much graphic rape and gang violence.

(And we never got an answer as to why Cassie ran away.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quickly, this book is about a 15 year old girl who disappears after being dropped off for a musical recital. Six years lster her brother sees a documentary on London homeless people in school and thinks he catches a glimpse of his sister in the film. His father embarks on a search for his daughter that takes him into a world that ordinary people in London don't see. A world of homeless "tribes" with charismatic and ruthless leaders with hundreds of followers living in abandonned buildings in a corner of the city called the "Tinderbox".

This isn't your typical troubled kid leaves home story. This girl, Cassie is not troubled. Her life is good. What would you do if your child left home for no good reason? Would you accept their choice or go after them? The book is a family drama and a bit of a mystery too. Why did Cassie leave? Where is she? And it's a thriller. Can Schofield, a mild mannered man in a suit, go into the Tinderbox and make it back out alive?

I liked the book because I liked the main character Schofield, the father. He was a decent man who loved his daughter who left without any reason to leave. The only hint they had of any trouble the day she left was that she was nervous about her clarinet recital. The pain he and his wife feel at their daughter's leaving is palpable, but they experience it differently. The mother would rather he find the daughter dead because she cannot accept that her daughter could live with them for 15 years then walk away from them without a word in 6 years. She says it's like I never knew her then. But the father cannot accept that. I could understand the mother's pain, but it's the father's choice that I would make. I would go after her and want to try to talk to her and ask her why.

The two leaders of the main tribes in the Tinderbox, Rommel and the Pagan are gang leaders of homeless people. I am sure gangs exist like this in all major cities. This book at one point almost makes the life seem romantic, but then the author corrects the view with some more graphic details as if to remind anyone that it is still a brutal dirty, short life for all who choose it.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A departure from her mysteries, this book explores homelessness and the problems of runaways. I love Jo Bannister's writing. I appreciated this look at why kids stay away rather than coming home. I loved the hope that Cassie might reach out to them and the healing this pilgrammage brought to their family.

[Tiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad gave me this to read. It is very well written, but I must warn you that it deals with hard things to think about. Set in London, it is about the homeless, centering around one family's dilemma with a lost daughter. Made me think that is for sure.

[Muriel Kudera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy this author. Tinderbox is not a Brodie Farrell mystery but is quite absorbing.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book all the way until the ending. Left me feeling unsatisfied. I still recommend it, but don't get your hopes up for a satisfying ending!