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Simon Tolkien pens a good detective novel
Simon Tolkien is the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, and storytelling must be in his genes.
However, this novel is far different from the fantasy world that his grandfather wrote about in "The Lord of the Rings"; "Final Witness" is a breathtaking modern tale of scheming, manipulation, estrangement, murder and courtroom drama.
Thomas Robinson, son of a British cabinet minister, grows up in an estate on the coast in Suffolk, 'House of the Four Winds', his mother Anne's ancestral home, and in London where the family has another residence. Peter Robinson is an indifferent father, spending his time with his government duties in London and traveling to Suffolk for the weekends, as his political career keeps him away from home during the week, and his wife will not here of selling "House of the Four Winds".
He does not relate to his son at all. Peter had grand hopes for Thomas when he was small, but the boy seems too much inclined toward the arts, not a future that his practical-minded father wants for an only son. As the years pass, father and son move further apart - Peter sees his son takes no particular interest or pride in his father's family, no interest in his father's achievements. He sees that Thomas' heart and mind belong to his mother and to the house in which her family, the Sackvilles, have lived for generations.
When Thomas turns 13, Peter hires Greta Grahame as his personal assistant. Greta makes herself indispensable to Sir Peter and so begins to accompany him on his weekend visits to his family in Suffolk. For at least half of the time they will be working in either Sir Peter's study or in the drawing room, with its French windows overlooking the garden where Lady Anne spends so much time tending her rose gardens, which have become famous. Thomas will be out there, too, always helping his mother. The two are inseperable.
Greta makes a great effort to get on with Thomas, and she suceeds, for a time at least. She reads as much as she can about Suffolk and its history so that Thomas begins to come to her when he needs information for the stories he is writing. Lady Anne thinks it amusing that her husband's P.A. is also giving assistance to her son. This relaionship seems pleasant and grows through the ensuing months. Then something happens to cause Thomas to change toward Greta. On an occasion when his parents are out, Thomas sees Greta trying on his mother's gowns, preening in front of the mirror. That is the catalyst for what happens to the cast of characters as they are drawn into a whirlwind of which Great is the vortex:
Lady Anne is attacked and murdered, sensing the inevitable, and to protect Thomas, she pushes him into a hiding place, an ancient "priest hole", and Thomas, unable to do anything to save his mother, witnesses the crime. He recognises one of the men as someone he has seen in Greta's company in London.
He tells the police what he saw; his father does not believe him, thinking it is another of Thomas' fantasies, and from then on Thomas' life is thwarted when the boy manages to hide from his would-be murderers, press a panic button before escaping to a hideout, and the police arrive and frighten the criminals away. He again points the finger at the person he believes murdered his mother.
Greta and Sir Peter are married despite Thomas' accusations. The evidence against Greta mounts, but her husband, infatuated by her, doesn't believe the evidence or his son. It is up to Thomas, with the help of a young friend, to get together the proof that will convince his father of Greta's masterminding the crime.
These are the bare bones of the story, which is fleshed out with lengthy courtroom scenes where the drama accelerates, tension mounts, and the reader is drawn into a breathtaking dissection of what makes us human.
We see into the minds of the judge, lawyers, jury members and the anguish of a 16-year-old youth whose world has been turned topsy-turvy.
The novel is full of characters so real that the reader cares about them or hates them, and as a bonus, learns the difference between American and English courtroom procedures.
Simon Tolkien is the grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, and storytelling must be in his genes.
However, this novel is far different from the fantasy world that his grandfather wrote about in "The Lord of the Rings"; "Final Witness" is a breathtaking modern tale of scheming, manipulation, estrangement, murder and courtroom drama.
Thomas Robinson, son of a British cabinet minister, grows up in an estate on the coast in Suffolk, 'House of the Four Winds', his mother Anne's ancestral home, and in London where the family has another residence. Peter Robinson is an indifferent father, spending his time with his government duties in London and traveling to Suffolk for the weekends, as his political career keeps him away from home during the week, and his wife will not here of selling "House of the Four Winds".
He does not relate to his son at all. Peter had grand hopes for Thomas when he was small, but the boy seems too much inclined toward the arts, not a future that his practical-minded father wants for an only son. As the years pass, father and son move further apart - Peter sees his son takes no particular interest or pride in his father's family, no interest in his father's achievements. He sees that Thomas' heart and mind belong to his mother and to the house in which her family, the Sackvilles, have lived for generations.
When Thomas turns 13, Peter hires Greta Grahame as his personal assistant. Greta makes herself indispensable to Sir Peter and so begins to accompany him on his weekend visits to his family in Suffolk. For at least half of the time they will be working in either Sir Peter's study or in the drawing room, with its French windows overlooking the garden where Lady Anne spends so much time tending her rose gardens, which have become famous. Thomas will be out there, too, always helping his mother. The two are inseperable.
Greta makes a great effort to get on with Thomas, and she suceeds, for a time at least. She reads as much as she can about Suffolk and its history so that Thomas begins to come to her when he needs information for the stories he is writing. Lady Anne thinks it amusing that her husband's P.A. is also giving assistance to her son. This relaionship seems pleasant and grows through the ensuing months. Then something happens to cause Thomas to change toward Greta. On an occasion when his parents are out, Thomas sees Greta trying on his mother's gowns, preening in front of the mirror. That is the catalyst for what happens to the cast of characters as they are drawn into a whirlwind of which Great is the vortex:
Lady Anne is attacked and murdered, sensing the inevitable, and to protect Thomas, she pushes him into a hiding place, an ancient "priest hole", and Thomas, unable to do anything to save his mother, witnesses the crime. He recognises one of the men as someone he has seen in Greta's company in London.
He tells the police what he saw; his father does not believe him, thinking it is another of Thomas' fantasies, and from then on Thomas' life is thwarted when the boy manages to hide from his would-be murderers, press a panic button before escaping to a hideout, and the police arrive and frighten the criminals away. He again points the finger at the person he believes murdered his mother.
Greta and Sir Peter are married despite Thomas' accusations. The evidence against Greta mounts, but her husband, infatuated by her, doesn't believe the evidence or his son. It is up to Thomas, with the help of a young friend, to get together the proof that will convince his father of Greta's masterminding the crime.
These are the bare bones of the story, which is fleshed out with lengthy courtroom scenes where the drama accelerates, tension mounts, and the reader is drawn into a breathtaking dissection of what makes us human.
We see into the minds of the judge, lawyers, jury members and the anguish of a 16-year-old youth whose world has been turned topsy-turvy.
The novel is full of characters so real that the reader cares about them or hates them, and as a bonus, learns the difference between American and English courtroom procedures.