The Poison Tree

November 1, 2010
British author Kelly deftly weaves past and present in her highly satisfying debut novel of psychological suspense, which reveals how a convicted murderer came to be released after serving 10 years in prison. In 1993, the naïve yet brilliant Karen receives a scholarship to London's Queen Charlotte's College, where she's beguiled by Biba Capel, an iconoclastic and edgy drama student, who soon introduces Karen to her strange older brother, Rex. Karen joins sister and brother at the grand but deteriorating Capel family house in Highgate, with its several unconventional tenants. The three throw disorderly parties that enrage the neighbors, but they succeed in creating their own Edenic existence until the unwanted intrusion of Biba's hostile lover. Though melodrama looms, including a double homicide, the tension never wanes, and the ensuing horror comes as a major shock. The surprises don't end until the last page of this twisted tale with its wonderfully evocative London atmosphere. 5-city author tour.

November 1, 2010

British journalist Erin Kelly's debut suspense novel is a richly shaded work crammed with atmosphere, quirky characters and intricate plotting.

Karen Clarke's perfectly ordinary life changes forever the day she spots an unusual girl writing a message on the corkboard in the hall of the London college where Karen studies linguistics. Biba Capel, a bohemian acting student, needs a tutor to help her with a German song she must learn for a production in which she's appearing. Karen offers to help and before she realizes what has happened, she has been transported to a world she never knew existed. Instead of the flat occupied by her three stuffy school chums, Karen discovers that Biba and her brother, Rex, live in an old, crumbling mansion bordering a stretch of woods. When Karen's boyfriend breaks up with her and her roommates set off for a summer in France without inviting Karen, she moves in with the Capel siblings and becomes an indelible participant in the dark and tragic events that shape their lives and bind them together forever. Told through flashbacks interwoven with scenes from the present, the book opens with Rex being released from prison, into Karen's waiting arms. But the occasion is stressful: Karen has a secret and she's terrified that someone will uncover it. The skillful intertwining of both the present and the past, which Kelly infuses with a mounting sense of urgency, is seamless.

A well-turned story that will linger in readers' minds.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2010

It should have been an idyllic summer for Karen Clarke. Having just finished university, Karen is at loose ends while she tries to figure out what she wants from life. Her gift for languages brings her into contact with free-spirited Biba, who lives in a crumbling London mansion with her brother Rex and an assortment of other bohemian characters. Karen is happy at last to be experiencing some of the craziness she thought college would bring, but as the summer progresses she realizes Biba and Rex have their own issues. First novelist Kelly intersperses the events of that long-ago summer when everything changed with Karen's present-day life as the mother of nine-year-old Alice as she brings Rex home from a ten-year stint in prison. VERDICT The advance blurbs for Kelly's debut describe it as brooding, atmospheric, and gothic--all accurate adjectives. Tension in this psychological thriller builds slowly, piece by ever more suspenseful piece. Fans of Sophie Hannah's domestic suspense novels will enjoy this gracefully written effort. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/10.]--Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2010
A dark, twisted tale of domestic tragedy, Kellys debut doesnt miss a step: character, plot, dialogue, atmosphere, and pacing are right on the money. Karen Clarke has always done whats expected and been a good girl: exceptional, conscientious student; obedient daughter; undemanding in her personal relationships. Then she meets fascinating Biba and falls in love with the young actress impetuosity and freewheeling lifestyle, both so different from anything Karen knows. That Biba wants to be her friend amazes Karen, who gratefully moves in with the actress and her protective older brother, soon to become Karens lover. At first, Karen finds her housemates casual lifestyle immensely appealing, but it isnt long before she unearths the tangled emotions and tragic history that lies beneath the carefree scene. By that time, however, shes so deeply enmeshed in her friends complicated, messed-up lives, she is unable to back away. Intriguing characters, a carefully constructed story that smoothly integrates past and present, and a shocker of an ending make this one special.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)