Book Review: Jo Spain's 'Don't Look Back' dances an elaborate dance
Jo Spain.
- Don’t Look Back
- Jo Spain
- Quercus, £16.99
This is an unsettling thriller which will not allow you to relax. Jo Spain keeps gleefully shifting the goalposts, leaving us on tenterhooks. Her approach is surprisingly stealthy. Very little is as it seems in this exceptionally skillful and deceptive novel.
There is nothing casual or careless here. The novel is terrifically slick, glossy, and assured. It is relentlessly high-octane stuff, propulsive and tense. Above all, it is a masterpiece in misdirection. It’s mischievous and exciting, restless and breathless. There is nothing cosy here, little reassurance, no solace. What seems innocuous and innocent tends to turn sinister.
The central characters are mostly schemers, consumed with agendas, plans, and manipulations. In this universe, revenge is vastly important, imperative even. Actions are always calculated to ensure maximum impact.
Although notions of 'karma' are discussed, premeditation and aggression are the norm. Consequently (with maybe one exception) it is difficult to root for these characters. They can be prone to unexpected shifts of alliance, and their shadowy motivations are often opaque at best. They are obsessive, enigmatic, and routinely duplicitous. The truth is a moveable feast.
Spain repeatedly invites the reader to make assumptions which she then invariably deconstructs. Trying to second-guess her is a thankless and frustrating task.
This is as unpredictable a crime novel as I can remember. What seems conclusive is often tentative, if not downright false. This misdirection can frustrate, even infuriate but it’s also admirable and full of invention.
In taking chances with the plot Spain occasionally risks the credibility of the novel, but ultimately manages to carry it off with some panache.
Admittedly she walks a fine line. The novel is sometimes somewhat implausible, and is occasionally preposterous. Given the addictive quality of the writing, many readers will forgive this. Caught up in the adrenaline rush of this punchy plot, it feels pedantic to pick holes — but they are there all the same.
Given how some characters are alienating, we definitely need someone to root for. The most sympathetic character here is Mickey, an empath who works to help abused women. She is the strongest, most consistent, most ethical and moral character. Like everyone in the novel though, she has secrets which inevitably compromise her behaviour. She gets caught up in other people’s toxic agendas and pays a price. Nonetheless, she has qualities the others lack.
This is a novel with different timelines and several locations but at the heart of it all is the love story of Luke and Rose. As the novel opens they are newly married after an extremely quick courtship. They are attractive, confident, engaging people. They initially seem extremely sympathetic. However like so much here, this is arguably an illusion.
Victims of misdirection again, we are confident we have a handle on them. Not so. Spain is again in full flight constructing then dismantling narratives. She delights in playing with assumptions and expectations and the results at best can be exhilarating.
This is the kind of elaborate dance beloved of a certain type of twisty thriller, and is undoubtedly a fine example. Ultimately it is by looking back that Spain reveals the answers. The past and the secrets it contains is the key to explanation, to revelation, to the truth.
