In This Way I Was Saved

Deleeuw, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1848541600 ISBN 13: 9781848541603

Publisher: John Murray, 2009

I pounded myself against the inside of his head, but it was useless. He couldn't hear me; I was trapped. So, like any other prisoner, I waited. I bided my time.

Luke is six. He is a lonely child, but he has one friend, his best friend - Daniel - whom he met in the playground on the day his parents finalised their divorce. Only Luke can see Daniel. They play games together, and Daniel watches over Luke; he is there when he first wakes up and there when he goes to sleep. Daniel's first memory is of Luke calling his name in the playground. Daniel is not an ordinary child.

Luke's mother spends more and more time in her room, haunted by family memories. She takes Luke and Daniel from New York to a deserted beach town, as winter sets in. Daniel is changing. He feels faint, weightless. Luke seems forgetful of him.

Time passes. Luke and Daniel have not seen one another for a long time. Until, one night, Daniel suddenly finds himself standing in Luke's bedroom, woken by the sound of breaking glass. He does not know how much time he has; but he knows how he can be saved.

Review:

'A strange tale seething with disturbing psychological overtones ... Hitchcock would have loved the premise' (US Kirkus Review)

'Its macabre climax will leave even the most rational reader feeling a little spooked' (Daily Mail)

'A frightening, gripping tale. This is one of the most fascinating and controlled first novels I've ever read - a sustained performance that hypnotizes and terrifies' (Edmund White)

'Original, subversive, funny, twisted and totally encrossing . . . a mind-bending tour de force. I read the last page, flipped back to the beginning, and immediately started it again' (Chelsea Cain)

'The relationship between Daniel and Luke is unique in the annals of literature. I haven't been this entertained by a debut novel in years' (Dale Peck)

'Striking narration...Deleew's precise, vivid prose has a visceral power of both a successful psychological thriller and a gripping ghost story' (The Telegraph)

Book Description:

THE OTHERS meets VERNON GOD LITTLE