Review: A Suspenseless Ghost Story.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 02 1, 2013
Syria, an antiques enthusiast finds herself distracted by the handsome son of the owner of her favourite antiques store; however when the man dies suddenly she thinks nothing of the expected appearance of a black top hat on her doorstep days later.As I began The Man in the Black Top Hat I was intrigued, it seemed as though it might be some kind of thriller with a romantic twist, the first couple of chapters seeming to switch between the monologue of Syria and that of the dead man, Jeff. The early part of the book also introduces us to Syria's teenage daughters, Kelsey and Johanna, both of whom are given enough back story to constitute characters in their own right.Having inhabited that hat he always wore Jeff is determined to continue the secret obsession for Syria in harboured in life; and as luck would have it, his father takes it upon himself to give the hat to Syria. From here I expected some strange ghostly events yes, but what I was in fact treated to was little more than a dull housewife's monologue.The book is written entirely in first person and gives you every detail; she talks about trips to the supermarket, what she cooks her family for dinner, the care she takes over her garden and how much she enjoys her job as a real estate agent. We learn very little about the other characters in Syria's life, her daughters seem to have been built up for absolutely no reason and her husband John is little more than cardboard cut-out.Jeff haunts the house, sexually abusing Syria (who in her sheltered housewife role actually quite likes it) and occasionally turning the blender off and on. For almost twelve chapters nothing else happens. Syria tells the reader she's scared, but her words are about as compelling as a limp fish, Jeff's motivation is never explored or even mentioned after the second chapter and the whole thing becomes increasingly more tedious.The Man in the Black Top Hat is not what I would call a novel.