Think about the number of classic novels that have had
the storyline set in motion by one seemingly simple action. A phone call is all
it takes to set Tom Rob Smith’s latest, The
Farm in motion; however it was not just any phone call.
An older couple, cash strapped after the financial
meltdown takes what remains of their life savings and moves to Sweden, the wife
birthplace, to live out their retirement on a simple farm. This idyllic sounding
life comes crashing to a halt when the husband calls their son to announce that
the wife is under psychiatric care in an asylum.
Smith weaves an intricate tale as the mother tells the
son the story of a not so idyllic life as she builds what she believes to be a
sturdy case involving murder and mayhem. Smith cuts in an abundance of dialogue
to move the story forward and offers detailed descriptions of settings and
locales and spices things with a tension involved in all of the relationships
in the book.
While the dialogue can prove to be a bit jumpy and the
amount of detail is at times overwhelming, Smith does manage to drag you along
to the pay off, with all of this device. While The
Farm may not live up to the title of classic, it is another winner for
Smith.
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