All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

Upstate New York in the early 1970s and George and Catherine Clare move into a farmhouse at the foot of the hill. Previously, the hub of a working dairy farm, the house feels haunted by the woman who held it all together and, unbeknown to Catherine, died along with her husband in the master bedroom. Because of this unhappy legacy, the Clares got it cheap, which causes some resentment in the close-knit community centred on Chosen, the nearby town. Yet George, a professor of art history at the local college, charms them initially, but it’s Catherine, a former artist and now stay-at-home mother of three-year-old Franny, whom they take into their hearts. So everyone is shocked and saddened when George comes home one evening to find her with an axe through her head.

Although the novel follows the police investigation, and throws up some potential suspects, as well as another murder and a near miss, this is more the story of a community than of a crime. Beautifully written and broad in scope, it embraces multiple lives over the course of twenty years, including the three orphaned brothers uprooted from their home, the estate agent tasked with selling the farmhouse, George’s colleagues at the university, the troubled teenager he seduces and, finally, the adult Franny returning to the place where her mother died. Viewed from different angles, the characters are brought to life piece by piece; George, with “the benign, uninteresting beauty of the Disney prince who, out of stupid luck, always got the girl” (p152), in particular, becomes more disturbing as the novel progresses.

While I could have done without the spirit and spiritual side, I found this a psychologically astute portrayal of an abusive marriage (reminiscent of The Wacky Man) and of a credible psychopath (see also Trencherman). For another novel with an estate agent – or, as they’re both American, I should say realtor – as point of view character, see The Good House. The unprofitable farm also reminded me of the novel, Soil. To discover more about the setting of this novel, see this post on The Book Trail Thanks to Quercus books for my review copy.

Although it’s a pity I can’t link it to this novel, I can’t hold back on the exciting news I have to share: my debut novel, Sugar and Snails, has made the longlist of the Polari First Book Award. Click on the image to see my name among a bunch of heavyweights!