A(nother) Year of Orenda – The Beresford by Will Carver

Today it’s back to Mandie who has been for a stay at The Beresford, Mr Will Carver twisted tale of rental home hell. I read the book earlier in the. year and you can find my thoughts on this twisted, dark tale right here. Here’s what the book is all about:

About the Book

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.

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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.

Mandie’s Thoughts

After reading several of Will Carvers books back-to-back last year and having a complete mind mush moment in the aftermath I knew that this was not going to be a light and breezy book. It would be dark and twisted, exactly what we have come to expect and love from him. They always say that writers should write what they know, but I seriously hope that this really is all just in his head.

They say that if something looks too good to be true then it usually is and in the case of the Beresford it certainly looks like this is the case. On the outside the building is imposing but the rent is cheap so attracts people who are looking to start out on their own. Owned by Mrs May a seemingly unassuming elderly lady the tenants settle into their flats quite quickly as long as they keep themselves to themselves. Its only when they start to interact with each other that the problems start.

I am not quite sure what it says about me and my state of mind, but I absolutely loved this book and the darker it got the more I was drawn in. Some of the scenes had that definite eeww feel about them but the following actions also at times made me smile. With each new resident you wanted to scream at them to get out, go back to their old lives before the evil that was clearly within the walls took over them and they had no escape, well not alive in any case. Mrs May had the outward appearance of a nice little old lady who rented out flats but her ability to always know what was going on with her tenants and her ability to manipulate them when they were most vulnerable was quite chilling. I did feel sorry for Gail. She had escaped one kind of hell only to walk right into another one (quite literally). As you got to know the other residents (for the little time they were there) I was actually kind of ok with their outcomes as they didn’t really garner any sympathy from me.

The quick pace of the book matched the turnaround of the residents which meant just as you were getting over one shock it would not be long before you were smacked in the face with another one. Although this is a stand-alone part of me would really like to revisit the Beresford again (although not in person). Long may Will Carver and his dark, gruesome writing continue as I for one am looking forward to reading more.

About the Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

Books by Will Carver