The Removal Man by R.J. Parker
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 1st July 2022
Published: 29th April 2022
★ 1 star
DESCRIPTION:
The Removal Man is an utterly unputdownable suspense thriller from the author of The Dinner Party and The Good Neighbour that imagines your worst house-moving nightmare – and then dials it up to 11.
Rose is moving. For her and her son, Noah, this is going to be a fresh start.
She’s almost finished packing but Noah is determined to spend one last night camping out in the garden like he used to. Rose agrees as long as he wraps up warm inside their small tent.
Four hours later she’s woken by a frantic banging on the window.
It’s Noah.
There’s someone in the garden.
That’s when Rose picks up the kitchen knife.
MY THOUGHTS:
This is the first time I have read this author and I can't say that I was enamoured by this offering. The premise was intriguing but that's as far as it went. Honestly, most of the first quarter of the book was about Rose and her son Noah in the backyard, in the house and in the backyard again.
Rose and Noah have just packed up their home to move and as a final goodbye, Noah wants to spend the night in his tent in the backyard...just the same as he would have done with his father Lucas. Lucas who had an aneurysm whilst in bed with a much younger student is now in hospital and will never fully recover. It's down to his increasing medical costs that Rose has had to sell their home and downsize.
Noah pleaded with his mum to allow him to camp out in his tent just the way he used to with his dad. But then in the middle of the night, Rose is awoken by a banging on the double glazed doors. Noah is wanting to come in. He heard something so Rose investigates. She wanders the house and then the backyard, but sees nothing. But Noah is adamant he heard something. So she beds down with him in his cramped one man tent and they both doze off.
Until a noise awakens Rose. A dragging sound just outside the tent. She finally works up the courage to look. Nothing is there. By this time, Noah is awake once again. Of course, Rose cleverly left her mobile inside on the floor after her son woke her earlier and as she moves towards the house to grab her phone, she sees a shadow in an upstairs window. Someone is inside. She must grab her phone and call the police.
And blah blah blah...
Honestly, it just goes on and on about every step Rose and Noah take. She never got her phone but instead frightened herself silly that she tries pushing Noah up over the high wall that encircles their property. But instead he falls to the ground. And then it moves from the boring to the preposterous. By which time, I've given up and tossed it aside to move onto something far more interesting and worthy of my time.
Many people loved this book and I was waiting to reach that point but by 30% I still hadn't got there so why waste my time any further?
Life's too short to read books that don't interest me.
I would like to thank #RJParker, #NetGalley and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #TheRemovalMan in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
R J Parker now lives in Salisbury. One More Chapter/HarperCollins have published THE DINNER PARTY, WHILE YOU SLEPT and THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR and THE REMOVAL MAN. As Richard Parker he has written the thrillers STOP ME, SCARE ME, STALK ME, FOLLOW YOU, HIDE AND SEEK, KEEP HER SAFE, NEVER SAY GOODBYE and THE SONGBIRD GIRLS.
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