Dismantlement = Freedom

From the book jacket: "Henry, Tess, Winnie and Suz banded together in college to form the Compassionate Dismantlers. Following the first rule of their manifesto – “To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart” – these daring misfits spend the summer after graduation in a remote cabin in the Vermont woods committing acts of meaningful vandalism, and plotting elaborate, sometimes dangerous, pranks. But everything changes when one particularly twisted experiment ends in Suz’s death and the others decide to cover it up.

Nearly a decade later, Henry and Tess are living just an hour’s drive from the old cabin. Each are desperate to move on from the summer of the Dismantlers, but the past isn’t ready to let them go. When a victim of their past pranks commits suicide – apparently triggered by a mysterious Dismantler-style postcard – it sets off a chain of eerie events that threatens to engulf Henry, Tess, and their precocious nine-year-old daughter Emma. Is there someone who wants to reveal their secrets? Is it possible that Suz did not really die – or has she somehow found a way back to seek revenge?

Full of white-knuckle tension with deeply human characters caught in circumstances beyond their control, Jennifer McMahon’s gripping story and spine-tingling plot prove that she is a master at weaving the fear of the supernatural with the stark realities of life."

Sounds good don't you think? While the book received widely conflicting reviews, once I picked it up I did not want to put it down. I was rapt. I was spooked. I was intrigued. I was perplexed. Again I say, I was rapt.

There are annoying aspects of the book - as noted by one reviewer, I never want to hear the word "babycakes" again - but the writing is solid and actually pretty funny at times. I love quirky OCD Emma and her intuition regarding her parents' precarious relationship.

The author utilizes a multi-narrative style, in which each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character. This doesn't always work (in some books it becomes annoyingly repetitive) but I think it is very appropriate for this novel. When done properly, this style allows the reader to more closely identify with each individual main player. Here it works.

Spine-tingling is such a cheesy word, but fitting when describing this book. It'll keep you guessing until the end. A great weekend or beach read. Definitely worth checking out at your local library!