Algonquin Books, June 7, 2016.
Three Stars
The Manderley Resort is an opulent, glamorous new
hotel on the coast of California. The décor of the hotel has the best of
everything, with huge crystal chandeliers, luxurious modern ballrooms and
wall-to-wall white carpet as far as the eye can see. The Manderley has the best
security in the world, seemingly excessive to the staff – but a necessity for
the wealthy owner, whose father was killed in a hotel when room service
delivered him a homemade bomb. The over-the-top security is justified when we
learn that there is a killer on the loose inside the hotel.
Security is a shocking thriller combined with an unusual love story. The
name of the hotel is an obvious nod to Daphne DuMaurier, and the author borrows
from other well-known horror stories, using obscure hedge mazes, secret
passageways and an eerily slow glass elevator, all the better to witness the
grisly murders that begin to take place in the seemingly spotless hotel. As
they prepare for opening night, the staff of the hotel are easy targets for the
killer.
In the age of surveillance, everyone is constantly
being watched – it can make you feel safe, or it can put your life in danger.
In this case, the hotel staff is monitored by their security team as they walk
into the killer’s various traps. The novel is narrated by the unnamed head of
security, although we do not know that at first – he is an omniscient voice who
interjects himself into the story with a dry sense of humour and lack of
self-preservation. He seems to be sitting back and watching the crimes
committed – is he complicit, or is there more to the story? The novel is a
genre-hybrid with gory splashes of blood ripped from the movie ”Scream” that
lead to unexpected moments of romantic drama. It is unsettling, yet very
entertaining.
I didn’t know going into this novel that it leans
heavily on the classic slasher style – it is creepy, gross horror, but somehow
really fun. Especially the chef’s cherry coulis spilled around the hotel, not
to be mistaken for blood. The novel follows the tropes of a strong lead woman
with her charming male sidekick, surprisingly able to survive as the minor
characters around them are killed off one by one – and we are the voyeurs
forced to watch. There is an ominously slow reveal of clues as the security
cameras pan out and we are allowed to see the bigger picture. In some parts, Security reads like an amateur
screenplay, but in fact I think it would make an awful movie – it is the author’s
cheeky, clever narrative style that really enhances this novel and makes it so
much fun to read.
I received this novel from Algonquin Books and
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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