This review will also be published over at Semicolon’s Saturday Reviews, on Saturday January 8th 2011, where anyone can post a review that they would like to share with others, or where you can visit to find some great recommendations from fellow bloggers.
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Synopsis: These words are a direct extract from the back cover of the book
Buy This Book From Amazon
“When you live the dream you live the consequences…
Cool blonde Carter Graham is a successful lawyer who believes she is well on the way to achieving everything she has ever wanted: a first-class job, a beautiful flat and marriage to the man of her dreams, Kim Betz.
But Carter forgot, when drawing up her dazzling plans, that some dreams turn out to be nightmares.
Kim’s ex-wife, Sophie, starts to stalk her; Kim lies not only about his past but also his present, and Carter finds herself drawn into an expanding web of deceit which eventually threatens not only her sanity but her life.
The High Flyer, both a murder mystery and a psychological thriller set in 1990s London, also examines metaphysical questions on the nature of evil in our chaotic modern society, and the healing power of love”
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About The Author:
Susan Howatch was born in Surrey, England. After earning a degree in law at King’s College, London, she emigrated to America where she married, had a daughter, and embarked on her career as a writer.
After separating from her husband, she left America and lived in the Republic of Ireland for four years before returning to live in England.
It was whilst living in a flat overlooking Salisbury Cathedral, that she found herself inspired by the beauty of the building and the feeling that it may fill an emptiness in her life, at that time. It was then, that she began to study Anglican Christianity in earnest.
She wondered if she should continue writing novels, eventually deciding that she should, but with a complete change of emphasis, away from the romantic novels of her early career, to now focus on novels about the Church of England in the 20th century, all of which reflect her own spiritual thoughts and views, at the time.
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‘The High Flyer’ is part of The St. Benet’s trilogy, which takes place in London of the 1980s and 1990s and illustrates the changes which took place in the Anglican Church in those years However, while the Church is still at the heart of the books, there is an increased emphasis on characters who are not members of the clergy. Each book in the trilogy is written in the first person by a different narrator.
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My Personal Thoughts About The Book:
I was looking forward to reading this book, as I had first read Susan Howatch many years ago and could recall enjoying her novels immensely.
The Susan Howatch I remember however, is the one before her religious transformation. When I recall some of the titles of those previously enjoyed novels: ‘Penmarric’, ‘Sins Of The Fathers’ and ‘The Rich Are Different’, to name but a few, they are all traditional family sagas with a romantic edge.
‘The High Flyer’ left me somewhat perplexed and still a little unsure of my feelings towards it. It started off as I had expected, with the suspense building nicely from the very first page, hinting at the promise of a really intense psychological drama.
Carter Graham was bombarded by just about every dark thought and revelation possible; from Neo-Nazism, sexual deviance, murder and suicide; to jealousy, malicious harassment and poltergeist movements and sightings.
All this however was tempered evenly with the false love of a demon in disguise, who played with her emotions, then ripped them to shreds in a callous and calculating way, in his dark and disturbing dealings with the occult and the powers of evil, leaving Carter an emotionally drained wreck, on the path to self destruction.
The second half of the book then switches to Carter’s journey of redemption, cleansing and healing, as she struggles to deal with the feelings of self loathing, despair, hatred, fear and disgust, that are the legacy from this chapter in her life and, as it transpires, going all the way back to her troubled childhood.
Her ‘guardian angel’, who we first meet right at the start of the book, re-appears to show her the way of salvation, which she finds within the unorthodox walls of an inner city church network.
Very unorthodox priests, apply some very unorthodox thoughts and actions, to help Carter understand and come to terms with the healing process that she needs to go through, before she can get her life back on track, maybe even a different and more fulfilling track than she was pursuing before her disastrous encounter with her personal devil incarnate.
These men of the cloth appear to operate just within the boundaries of the church and the ‘blind eye’ of the Diocese officials, performing exorcisms and the ‘laying on of hands’ at regular healing services, but for Carter they are her salvation and a way back from the depths of despair, to a life where the true meaning of love waits for her, when she is ready to open her heart and mind to it.
I am not sure that I ever totally understood the many nuances and undertones of the book. Is it a romance, a suspense thriller, a mystery, a novel about the occult, or a lesson in spiritual and religious belief, or maybe a little of each?
I must admit, that I did find the prolonged religious references not within my usual sphere of reading and not particularly to my liking, however, it is definitely a very well written, perceptive piece of work, which deals with the inner emotions in a sensitive and deeply moving way, whilst providing a strong and emotional plot as a precursor to this journey of what I would describe as ‘self-healing’.
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Other references made by Fiction Books, to ‘The High Flyer’
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I would love to hear other peoples views, if you have ever read the book.
Overall, because of the great descriptive and emotional style of writing, I will rate this as 4 out of 5
About Yvonne
Mysteries have to be very special for me to like them (since I’m not a huge fan of the genre), so the inclusion of all of the other content, especially the occult/spiritual, makes me less interested.
Hi Alyce,
I have very eclectic tastes in reading and will try almost any genre, although science fiction/paranormal comes quite a long way down the list. Apart from that, almost anything is good for me.
I try not to get too hung up with blogging and tend to read what I want, when I want.
This book was particularly challenging and thought provoking and was a read that required a lot of concentration, in order to grasp all that the author was trying to get across in the storyline.
Hi Yvonne
I really like the look of this one and will be looking out for it (just added it to my Amazon wish list too).
Hi Chris,
A great book, very deep and meaningful, with Susan Howatch at her most perceptive towards the state of human frailty.
Sounds like a good book (and certainly a great review!). The only thing that puts me off is the religion part of it. I don’t mind and undertone of religion, but I don’t know if I could put up with prolonged religious references.
Hi Nikki-Ann,
I must admit that the religious overtones were definitely prevalent, throughout the last third of the book, but they were all relevant to the storyline, not just random references.
In retrospect, I am still glad that I read the book, as it was a fantastic piece of writing.
Sounds like a different book. I’m not a fan of religious references as well but if you say it’s well written, it’s worth a look.
Hi Violet,
It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting from a Susan Howatch book, but it was so well written, that I wasn’t disappointed with it.
Leaving the religious references to one side, the underlying story was very powerful and compelling
I loved this book and found it hard to put down. But I have to confess, I love Susan Howatch. That being said, this is not her best work. Her starbridge series may put people off because of it’s religous overtones, but they are simply brilliant. Each one builds on the next one, but can be read seperately as well. Howatch really makes you think and examine your life and coping mechanisms.
Hi Christine,
I have to admit that I was a little non-plussed, when I first started reading this book, as I had previously only read Susan Howatch, when she was in her early writing career and producing some fantastic romantic sagas.
I was a bit unsure about the amount of religious content, but was in awe of the perceptive observations about the human spirit, that she managed to weave into the story.
Yvonne, thanks for visiting my blog and inviting me over here to check out this review. Hmmm….quite a different focus for Susan Howatch than Penmarric! I’m intrigued, but maybe not enough to read this book. I’ll have to see if my library has it.
Hi Kay,
Yes, Susan has certainly changed her whole style of writing in recent years and there are some quite mixed thoughts about that, but everyone is still enthralled by her quality and depth of writing, although the latest book in my opinion, will only appeal to certain readers. I am not altogether sure that I would actively seek out more in this series.
Hi Yvonne – I finally got around to reading this, and like you, I really don’t know what to think! It wasn’t what I imagined at all. I thought the writing technique was good, but…….! I won’t be looking out for more books by this author – just not my cup of tea
Hi Chris,
The writing technique is definitely proficient and a style that I enjoyed.
I just wasn’t too sure about the religious overtones and connotations, a little bit too heavy for me I think.
If you can get hold of any of her earlier books, they really are worth a read, ‘Penmarric’, ‘Sins Of The Fathers’ and ‘The Rich Are Different’ are the titles I have read and they are all great.
Sorry if my review made the book out to be something it wasn’t.
I am missing her saga novels. I read all her books but missing well written saga.
Hope she returns to this writing again
Lida
I liked all her books but the family sagas were so well written. I really miss her work.
I think we can do with some escape from all the realism we are experience today.
Hi Lida,
Thank you for visiting Fiction Books and for your interest in this post, I appreciate that you took the time to leave a comment.
Since writing this post and indicating that Susan Howatch had received inspiration for her final known trilogy of books when she was living in Salisbury, Wiltshire (about 20 miles away from my own home in Somerset), several of the information sites have now been updated to show that she has since moved again, and now makes her home in Leatherhead, Surrey, although there is nothing else to tell.
The final part of the St. Benet’s Trilogy, ‘The Heartbreaker’, was published in 2003, after which Susan appears to have set aside her pen and decided not to write again. There is a rare interview with her, as she discusses this final book:
http://www.meettheauthor.com/bookbites/743.html
I have to admit a liking for her earlier work, before she embraced religion and like yourself, sorely miss her family sagas, although some of these early novels date back to the 1960s. I still have a couple in my ‘To Be Read’ pile, but can vividly recall reading ‘Penmarric’, ‘Cashelmara’ and ‘The Rich Are Different’. A great talent indeed!