The Woodcutter

Starred review from June 6, 2011
British author Hill (The Stranger House) combines an edgy tale of betrayal and revenge with the trappings of a modern-day fairy tale in this sly, enchanting stand-alone. Wilfred "Wolf" Hadda, the poor but ambitious son of a Cumbrian woodcutter, has waited five years to marry Imogen, whose father, Sir Leon, employs Wolf's father as head forester, in order to fulfill the three tasks she demanded: become socially polished, get an education, and amass a fortune. Now Sir Wilfred Hadda and head of an international corporation, he's dumfounded when he's arrested, charged with child pornography and fraud, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Has he been framed? Of course. At the core of this engrossing tale are the missing five years in Wolf's youth (rumor has it he was kidnapped by fairies) and how they relate to his ingenious plans for revenge. A lovely yet skeptical prison psychiatrist ("Elf") and a shrewd vicar are some of the strong characters that complement the fast-paced, unpredictable plot.

A devastating accusation, a crippling accident, and a lengthy prison sentence leave once successful Wolf Hadda with nothing but Alva, a diligent court-appointed psychiatrist, and an overwhelming anger. Upon release from prison, Wolf sets out to right the wrongs done to him. In a departure from his Dalziel and Pascoe series, Reginald Hill offers a complex, utterly engrossing stand-alone novel with the strange, magical undertones of a fairy tale. There are some narrators' voices that insist you listen. Jonathan Keeble has such a voice. From his first words, listeners are caught and held, whether he's delivering Wolf's fierce journal entries, Wolf's exchanges with Alva, action-packed moments of terror, or bits of dazzling dialogue. Keeble is chilling in his narration of Hill's literate psychological novel. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine