Everything stays the same for the tenants of The Beresford, a grand old apartment building just outside the city … until the doorbell rings… Will Carver returns with an eerie, deliciously and uncomfortably dark standalone thriller.
Just outside the city – any city, every city – is a grand, spacious but affordable apartment building called The Beresford.
There’s a routine at The Beresford.
For Mrs May, every day’s the same: a cup of cold, black coffee in the morning, pruning roses, checking on her tenants, wine, prayer and an afternoon nap. She never leaves the building.
Abe Schwartz also lives at The Beresford. His housemate, Sythe, no longer does. Because Abe just killed him.
In exactly sixty seconds, Blair Conroy will ring the doorbell to her new home and Abe will answer the door. They will become friends. Perhaps lovers.
And, when the time comes for one of them to die, as is always the case at The Beresford, there will be sixty seconds to move the body before the next unknowing soul arrives at the door.
Because nothing changes at The Beresford, until the doorbell rings…
Eerie, dark, superbly twisted and majestically plotted, The Beresford is the stunning standalone thriller from one of crime fiction’s most exciting names.
Book Information: Published by Orenda Books on 22 May 2021 – Print Length: 324 pages.
My Review:
Part of being a successful author is having the imagination and skill to create stories and characters and bring them to life in a way that is engaging, entertaining and enthralling and there is no doubt in my mind that Will Carver is an author extraordinaire. The Beresford is Will’s latest standalone novel, published by Orenda in digital format on 22 May and paperback on 22 July and I was thrilled to be invited by Anne Cater to take part in the blogtour for this book. I even bought the e-book on publication day because I couldn’t wait to read it.
If you have read any of Will’s previous books then you know to expect the unexpected and if you haven’t read any yet, then I can’t stress enough how brilliant this author is and you need to read Good Samaritans, Nothing Important Happened Today and Hinton Hollow Death Trip as soon as possible.
Back to The Beresford. This is a very unusual book, but as it’s written by the unusual, quirky and slightly odd Will Carver, it’s to be expected. The Beresford is a huge building with affordable apartments to rent on a short term or long term basis. Rent is cheap, no questions are asked and people find themselves heading over to The Beresford to escape from their routines, lives or family and Mrs May, the owner will always be there to welcome you.
Within a few chapters of the book you know that something isn’t quite right. People are dying, new occupants are moving in on a regular basis and Mrs May seems to accept the fast turnover of her tenants without any concern.
This is another clever, darkly humourous story with the typical Carver observational remarks about life, love, relationships and generally being alive that make you stop and say “aha” several times. Thought-provoking, intriguing, twisted and thoroughly BRILLIANT I read this book in a day and would like to give this author another standing ovation for always thinking outside the box and taking risks and gifting the readers such incredible stories. The only negative I have about this story is that unfortunately Will Carver has ruined lamb shanks for me for ever.
About The Author:
Will Carver is the bestselling author of the January Series – Girl 4 (2011), The Two (2012), The Killer Inside (2013), Dead Set (2013) – and the critically acclaimed Detective Pace series, which includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were selected as books of the year in mainstream international press. The books in this series have also been longlisted/shortlisted for the Amazon Readers Independent Voice Award, Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, Not The Booker Prize and the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award. Will spent his early years living in Germany, but returned at age eleven. He studied theatre and television at King Alfred’s Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition business and lives in Reading with his children.
‘A gripping novel laced with humour and cutting character insight … a thrill from start to finish. Expect the unexpected!’ Sarah Pinborough
‘Equally enthralling and appalling … unlike anything I’ve read in a very long while’ James Oswald
‘Ridiculously addictive’ S J Watson
‘Creepy and brilliant’ Khurrum Rahman
‘Reminiscent of The Shining … a creeping and perfectly crafted novel tinged with dark humour and malice’ Victoria Selman
‘A masterfully macabre tale’ Louise Mumford
‘I stepped into the imagination of Will Carver and it swallowed me whole’ Matt Wesolowski
‘Magnificently, compulsively chilling’ Margaret Kirk
‘Fans of Chuck Palahniuk will adore Carver … he is utterly brilliant’ Christopher Hooley
‘Devilishly dark and maniacally brilliant’ Raven Crime Reads
‘Slick, stylish … a sharply crafted and delectable slice of entertaining darkness’ The Tattooed Book Geek
‘Intense, brilliant, horrific, humorous and everything in between’ Liz Loves Books
