When I was contacted by Ruth Killick in February asking if I would be interesting in reading a book which is ‘Truly scary, a fabulous dive into the mind of a classic, self-justifying psychopath. A fantastic book.’ it’s the story of a father and a son in a suburban house. One of them is a psychopath…” I replied immediately saying YES without knowing anymore about the book or the author and found myself opening up the blogtour for Iain Maitland’s new thriller Mr Todd’s Reckoning and I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts with you today.
About the book:
Norman Bates is alive and well… He’s living just next door
Behind the normal door of a normal house, in a normal street, two men are slowly driving each other insane. One of them is a psychopath.
The father Mr Todd is at his wits’ end. He’s been robbed of his job as a tax inspector and is now stuck at home… with him. Frustrated. Lonely. Angry. Really angry.
The son Adrian has no job, no friends. He is at home all day, obsessively chopping vegetables and tap-tap-tapping on his computer. And he’s getting worse, disappearing for hours at a time, sneaking off to who-knows-where?
The unholy spirit in the safety of suburbia, one man has developed a taste for killing. And he’ll kill again.
About the Author: Iain Maitland is the author of thrillers: Mr Todd’s Reckoning (2019) and Sweet William (2017) as well as two non-fiction books on mental health: Dear Michael, Love Dad (2016) and Out of the Madhouse (2018). An ambassador for Stem4, the teenage mental health charity, Iain also speaks on mental health issues in the workplace. A writer since 1987, he is a journalist and has written more than 50 books, mainly on business, which have been published around the world.
My Review: This is my first book by Iain Maitland and I am still trying to get my head around this book and write a coherent review, so forgive me if I start rambling, but hopefully by the end of this you will get the gist of what I am trying to say.
Mr Todd’s Reckoning is so dark you need to read with the lights on; it’s so uncomfortable that you need to sit down on a soft cushion whilst reading it and it’s so disturbing you will need to take a breather every few chapters and remind yourself “it’s only a book; it’s not real“. Once you have prepared yourself, you are in for one hell of a ride and brace yourself as it’s not a particularly pleasant one.
Mr Todd is our narrator – a seemingly harmless, retired Tax Inspector living in surburbia with his 25 year old son Adrian, an unemployed, socially awkward, OCD man-child who is certainly on the spectrum and has a history of “unusual behaviour” which on occasion has brought the police to the door.
Our story begins with Mr Todd in the midst of a heatwave, in his small bungalow, trying to avoid confrontation with Adrian and retreating to his bedroom to write his diary and that’s where the fun (!!) starts.
This is such a clever book, the characters are brought to life so vividly I could see and smell them; Mr Todd’s observations of life were both funny and frightening in equal measures. The way the story flowed and all the characters interacted was genius and whilst the reader gradually learns the horrifying truth behind Mr Todd and his son Adrian, you can’t stop turning those pages eager to see what will happen.
I don’t want to say anymore except that if you are looking for a jaw dropping, atmospheric, creepy and uncomfortable read then look no further than Mr Todd’s Reckoning and buckle up for an uncomfortable ride. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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