Over the edge (published in 1987) - A psychological thriller written by Jonathan Kellerman

Two books old, Alex Delaware, former practicing child psychologist, currently forensic big wig with the LAPD – has another sticky case to solve. Although he needn’t work, considering that Lou Cestare, his ‘money handler’ makes sure he’s raking in the moolah through sound investments, he lends his expertise to the Department. However, he makes sure he has time to sit by his very own Koi pond and de-stress after a hard day’s work solving  less than savory  cases.
Revenge, money, power - the underlying motives for murders, and the recurring themes in mystery novel, set the pace of the story beginning with the very first chapter, and as the story progresses, one is sucked into the past - when two buddies, Black Jack and Souza fell for the same girl -Antoinette. Swept off her feet by Black Jack’s winning charm and charismatic persona, the lady makes her choice clear from the start, leaving Souza out in the cold.
Although he plays the best buddy to the T, Souza burns with jealousy and anger – from jilted lover to a face in the crowd at the wedding, from best pal to silent spectator of Jack's successes after another - he chooses to hit low and destroy his friend’s entire life. When Jack and Antoinette die tragically young, their three year old – Jamey Cadmus, scion and heir- is left in the care of his uncle and aunt.
An intelligent and exceptionally gifted child, Jamey was part of a UCLA study - Project 160, since he had a brilliant IQ of over 160. The aim of the study was to prove that there is no ‘streak of madness’ in geniuses, however, Jamey started to display troubled behavioral traits - a possibility that the psychosis that plagued his family, has come to haunt him as well.



This disapproves the premise the study is founded on; and Jamey seeks treatment with Alex Delaware - but drop out of it at sixteen, without any explanation. The doctor tries to get in touch with the child’s guardian, his uncle, but hears nothing from either of them. And then five years later, in the mid of night, Alex receives a frantic call from Jamey, obviously psychotic, begging for help. As the boy jabbers incoherently and rambles, Alex learns he is at the Canyon Oaks Mental Hospital; when Delaware drives to meet him - the boy goes missing again.
Milo Sturgis, Delaware’s friend and LAPD detective is, on the other hand, investigating a series of killings, called the Lavender Slasher Murders - he has been assigned the case based on the fact that involves the murder of young male prostitutes; the consequence of  bias he has to face since he  himself is homosexual.
Milo enquires whether Alex has heard of Jamey, this the doctor confirms. Later, he is informed by Souza (who is incidentally the Cadmus’ family lawyer ) that the boy has been found, in an extremely compromising situation - smeared with blood, clutching a knife midst two mutilated corpses. Charged with murder, Jamey is sent to the County Jail, where Alex is given access to the boy.
In all studies, psychologists agree that schizophrenics are harmless, and there is hardly any evidence to prove that they may become serial killers, and even though two of the kids on Project 160, went off it (the other being a boy called Gary, whom Jamey befriends) - there is no reason to link there psychosis to the murders.
In Kellerman’s own words, “As a psychologist, I’ve always been intrigued by the genius/insanity myth. The truth is most highly gifted individuals are pretty well-adjusted. But what if…it’s all about the what-if.” A great read, touching and sentimental, ruthless and coldblooded, thrilling and frightening, another masterpiece, much like When the Bough Breaks.

Blood Test (published in 1986) - Psychological drama written by Jonathan Kellerman

Kellerman’s second novel after When the Bough Breaks in the Delaware series, written in 1986, opens with Alex at the courtroom listening to the final judgment being delivered against one Richard Moody - who has been declared unfit by Delaware – due to which he is not allowed custody of his children. Moody approaches Alex, pleading with him to tell the judge otherwise, when the latter refuses, Richard assaults him, but is over powered by Delaware.
Meanwhile, Alex is approached by a friend, a pediatric oncologist - Dr. Raoul Melendez-Lynch to speak to the Swopes, a family whose five year old son Woody, is suffering from leukemia. Alex must try and convince the parents not to discontinue the child’s chemotherapy sessions, who are certain that the best way to deal with the disease is to administer non chemical, holistic medication. The Book follows these two families, the sub plot and the plot- the Moodys and the Swopes - and how Delaware is intrinsically involved with both, the shades that layer his dealings with both are different, yet the aim is the same - to ascertain that the children involved remain unscathed as far as possible.
When Alex arrives at the hospital, he learns that the child has been kidnapped by his own parents, his mother posed as a lab technician and on the pretext of running some tests, spirited him away, leaving only a portentous blood stain in their wake.

The Swopes are horticulturists who lost most of what they had after they tried their hand at cherimoya farming - the South American fruit, believed to protect against cancer and Parkinson’s disease. So confident is Mr. Swopes of his future success, that he asks buyers to pledge that they would purchase only his fruit for the first year. He slogs for a decade, pampering the soil and the buyers, unfortunately, the crop fails due to bad weather conditions, and the couple end up losing most of their assets - the father, loses more than that- for he takes to sexually abusing his daughter, an understandably sullen and gloomy teenager, who, unbeknownst to Delaware, is actually Woody’s mother, not his sister. To make matters worse, the parents are found dead, whilst the girl, Nona, is part of a drug dealing, holistic-meditative cult called The Touch.
Alex uncovers the dark life at the commune, including details of drug abuse and group sex. He just about manages to escape harrowing attempts on his life, but eventually saves Woody.
Alex, with a penchant for walking into trouble, a fall out of snooping around all by himself as Milo is out of town (although knowing Alex, one is certain he’d  go digging, partner in tow, as well!), he seems indestructible - a fact which readers would find hard to accept!
The characters of Alex and Milo are really well defined and impact-ridden, but what with every person having dark shades that lend them an air of foreboding; child molesters, drug dealers, murderers - the extreme of ugly, therefore, the other characters are lacking in credibility! The story is intriguing and gripping, however, the deviant nature of most of the characters – makes it unbelievable and too dark, it’s almost as if the reader is pushed into a tunnel of endless darkness with no hope of a light at the end of it! Thankfully, real life isn’t half as dreary as the book.

When the Bough Breaks (published in 1985) - Authored by Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman’s background in psychology makes him a formidable authority on not just the psychological practice, but also the psychosocial and legal aspects of his work. ‘When the Bough Breaks’ is Kellerman’s debut crime–mystery novel, written in 1985, and the first Delaware book. The novel could not have been written at a more harrowing time in America, when many cases of sexual abuse were being unearthed in child care facilities in the ‘80s; the Kern County child abuses, the Country Walk Babysitting Service abuse cases, Fell Acres Day Care Center case etc were only the tip of the iceberg, as more than 9 such criminal cases were brought to light.
Kellerman’s debut gave birth to the fictional character of Alex Delaware, a forensic psychologist with the LAPD, with a background in child psychology. His partner is Milo Sturgis, a detective with the Department.
We are introduced to a stressed out and highly strung Delaware, who would like to take a break - he had been working on a case of child abuse and molestation, and wants nothing more than to put it all behind and move on. However, Milo, urges Alex to put an end to his self imposed exile, for there is a case that needs his attention and expertise.
Dr. Morton Handler and his girlfriend Elena are found brutally murdered in the former’s apartment. The sole eye witness, a seven year old gives a confused and incoherent statement, and Milo is certain that with his expertise, Delaware would be able to help the child provide a more concrete and comprehensible account of what happened to the deceased couple, in the matter of just one interview. The child, whose name is Melody Quinn, was under Handler’s care for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), she is also undergoing strong medication which includes the drug Ritalin - known to cause serious side effects such as disturbed sleep, changes in weight and suppressed appetite.

To complicate matters further, Dr. Lionel Towle, the child’s pediatrician, refuses to alter the dosage of medication. Forming a bond with the girl and her mother Bonita, Alex reduces her dosage, without Towle’s knowledge, and thus gains access to their trust and vital information. Unfortunately, Melody begins to have nightmares, this gives her pediatrician an excuse to blame Delaware; both the doctor and Bonita Quinn forbid Alex to meet Melody. Genuinely concerned about the child, Alex and Milo start to piece together the mysterious circumstances under which Handler and his friend were murdered - the trail leads them to La Casa de los Niños, a home for special children.

Not wanting to spoil the plot, let’s just say that the Handler double murder is a drop in the murky, gory waters of homicidal history; the roots an links of which reach far back into Delaware’s own past. Kellerman skillfully weaves in secondary characters with unique, multi-layered personalities that intrigue, repel and fascinate - all at once, a treat for the senses. The characters of Delaware and Milo are peppered with human foibles that any reader could identify with. The ‘80s were a troubled time, with people coming to terms with

 changing social orders and demographics that were shifting - this included a sizeable workforce in varied arenas who had alternative sexual identities. Sturgis faces scrutiny and scorn for being homosexual, but handles it with surprising aplomb, a sign that he is comfortable and respectful of his identity.

The most comforting aspect has to be Kellerman’s conscious effort not to beleaguer the reader with psycho-medical babble; the narrative is simple, hard hitting and impact-ridden. However, it is best avoided due to the disturbing and graphic detailing of child abuse, especially for those sensitive readers who are disconcerted when faced with even fictional instances of violence meted out towards children.

Odd and the Frost Giants (published in 2008) - Written by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman, master of fantasy and mythology, offers an endearing tale about hope conquering all odds, a tale about how one can overcome any obstacle despite one’ own shortcomings and inhibitions. The book was chosen for the UNESCO World Book Day (2008).
Odd, a Norse name meaning ‘the tip of the blade’- is a young boy; although the name is meant to bring him luck, Odd is far from knowing what the word means. He is fatherless, having lost his dad in a Viking sea -raid, when he was only ten years old. He is physically maimed when he has an accident with an axe while chopping down a tree- it leaves him lame in the right leg. But what is most endearing about Odd, is his smile.
His mother, who is Scottish, marries a rich widower - Eldred, who ill treats Odd at the slightest provocation, whilst his mother is preoccupied looking after her seven other step children. Winter arrives, cold and almost arctic, never ending, threatening the onset of spring. Odd seems to have had enough at home, and decides he must get away; he leaves his stepfather’s abode for his own father’s hut in the chilly woods. In the forest, he meets a bear (with its paw caught in a tree trunk),a fox and a crow- unaware that these are Norse gods trapped in the bodies of these creatures - Loki, Odin and Thor - trapped thus by Frost Giants (who is actually just one giant).




He learns from the animals, that the winter was going to last forever, unless the Frost Giant is defeated. Odd comes to know that the city of Asgard has been invaded by the giant, who deceived Loki , and took Thor’s hammer - thus granting him dominion over the city and the terrible prospect of an endless winter. Odd decides to help the gods, who lead him to Mimir’s Well, to gain more astuteness and insight; here he sees his past, even his parents’ lives, and the possibility of a great future. Avoiding unnecessary conflict and confrontation, Odd uses his natural flair for negotiation, transitioning from the timid character we meet in the beginning of the story to a more confident boy, standing up to face all odds with skill and stoicism. Even his mother is transformed, as she sees her son as an inspiration, and garners strength from her son’s new persona.
Throughout the book, we learn to respect the young twelve year old Odd for the character he displays despite the adversities he’s pitted against. Friendships are tested, mistrust and deceit abound, but our hero remains untouched. He practices forgiveness and moves own, without any excess emotional baggage to hinder his quest. The Goddess Freya bestows partial healing to his lame leg, and he grows taller, stronger, leaning on a carved staff, bequeathed to him by none other than Odin, the All –Father.
The story touches a number of themes that appeal to a reader- coping with physical disability, the loss of a parent to death or even remarriage, the sadness of not knowing love at an early age, gracefully accepting that there is a place for everyone under god’s sun, and giving people a second chance. A must read - Neil Gaiman’s best, most human, and touching tale thus far!

M is for Magic (A book by Neil Gaiman) - Published in 2007

The book is a compilation of short stories, written by Gaiman: ‘Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams.’ He alludes to Saki, Harlan Ellison, John Collier and Ray Bradbury, all writers whom he adores and is influenced by; the ten stories have range, exploring Gaiman’s depth and style, imagination and passion as a writer.

1. The case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds (from Knave)
The story has characters from nursery rhymes, that beloved and fragile eggshell encased character Humpty-Dumpty, is a vicious extortionist in the tale, unlike the image we have of him from Mother Goose!
And Jill, actually the Queen of Hearts, gets a makeover, the woman of scarlet with myriad dark shades is a criminal par excellence, having gotten rid of HD, Cock Robinson and Dr. Foster – all for the four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie and the one who pecked her nose off - audaciously HD having photographed her sans snoot - reason enough in Nursery-land to bump someone off! A macabre read for a child!

2. Troll Bridge (from Smoke and Mirrors)
When steam engines became a thing of the past and railway tracks were uprooted, a young boy revels in childhood rituals - walking home from school, catching shrimp, colored rocks and whiling away time. And then he’s lost (but doesn’t seem to mind it!) – what makes it even more adventurous is his meeting with a troll - horrifying and threatening to eat him for having trespassed his bridge. But after promising to return when he’s older, the troll lets him by unscathed. When he’s fifteen, he returns, although unknowingly - with a girl, planning to do what teenagers would, unchaperoned, - and then, the troll freezes the girl into a zombie. This time the boy asks the troll to take the girl, he refuses (because she’s innocent) – he’d rather eat his life. Once again, the teenager appeals to the troll’s kindness and escapes.
Many years later, disillusioned, he returns, seeking the troll, who is surprised, even touched that he returned-and this time, he does eat his life, leaving the man, now a troll to haunt the greens under the bridge.

3. Don't ask Jack (from Smoke and Mirrors)
Some toys you buy off the counter, some are bequeathed - in the story, its Jack’s ornate box, never opened because it’s so valuable, and so an aura surrounds it, giving wind to many stories; the most circulated being that Jack was the guardian of Pandora’s box - he kept the evil from getting out.
But sometimes some kids do open the box, quietly, in the attic - and Jack comes out from the box, whispering things they’ll never forget. The children in the house grow up, one dead in the Great War, another in a mad house, the girls now old women, and all this while, Jack waits upstairs patiently for a child to come by - they never do.
Chilling and creepy, the story is great for a night time bed story -don’t look under the bed, and if you have   a box on the dresser, don’t you dare open it - Jack would know, he’s waiting…




4. How to sell the Ponti Bridge (from Imagine #24)
The American conman George Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge twice a week, and repeatedly, for years, giving rise to the phrase “and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.”
The Rogues’ Club is an exclusive intergalactic joint - the best in all the seven worlds, formed almost seventy thousand years ago (the bad guys have been around that long!)  in the Lost City of Carnadine. One evening, over conversations about past exploits and fine wine, a patron comments how classless it was when conmen tried to sell popular spots like the Ponti Bridge, to unsuspecting and susceptible tourists. That was low, even for accomplished fraudsters! The narrator comments that if at all the task was to be accomplished - the perpetrator would have no access to membership at this Club!
A suave man called Stoat cuts in politely, and tells all around that in fact - HE had gotten membership to The Rogues’ because he had sold the Ponti Bridge! He shares with them how he’d arrived penniless, and while listening to a tour guide at the bridge (studded with jewels) that Ponti wasn’t for sale, despite what scamsters were telling simple folk like them. That gave Stoat food for thought, and in his unctuous way, he sells the Bridge, bit by bit to jewelers of the city. Not revealing what the details were and what the consequences of his act were, Stoat leaves his audience wondering, and in wonder. The Rogues present feeling not so cad-like and clever anymore.

5. October in the chair (from Conjunctions)
October is chairing a meet of the twelve months, as they sit by a fire, sharing their experiences. Needless to say, October has the best story to tell. He narrates a tale about a little boy called Runt (here –a name, otherwise – a word meaning an undersized animal) , well that was his nickname, the only person who called him by his actual name Donald was his grandma. One day, Runt runs away from home, and befriends the ghost of a boy called ‘Dearly’. They have the best time- climbing trees and talking to each other. When it’s time to leave- Runt doesn’t want to, he’d rather die than go back to being a ‘runt’.
The story ends with Dearly showing Runt the farmhouse in the field of weeds, and as the ten year old stands by himself in the graveyard, he decides to go into the house, maybe hoping that he would be accepted as a ‘resident’ in the after life -yard, with Dearly for a friend. A jittery June asks what happened to him, but mild May entreats with  her not to ask, some things are better left unknown….I wonder, though…

6. (For Ray Bradbury) Chivalry  (from Smoke and Mirrors)
Genteel and aged Mrs. Whitaker purchases the Holy Grail from Oxfam, along with two Mills & Boons titles (which she’ll never read). The silver chalice would look wonderful on the , it mantelpiece.
And look wonderful – it does! Mrs. Greenberg, though, casts a jaundiced eye over it, proclaiming her son her son Myron had won a chalice like that for swimming- and unlike this one, his had his name engraved on it!
Social ritual over, the bell rings once more and Mrs. Whitaker opens the door to find a ‘knight in shining armor’, literally, at her doorstep. He introduces himself as Galaad, and that he is on a Right High and Noble Quest to find the Holy Grail- which is currently in her possession. The old lady asks him to leave when he requests that she give him the blessed chalice, refusing his offer for gold in exchange for it.
He returns again on Monday, and she asks him to help her out in the garden, he offers her the sword Balmung, she refuses, he leaves. On Tuesday, she gets him to help her with the boxes; he bears more gifts: the Philosopher’s stone, the  Egg of the Phoenix and lastly an apple carved out of a single ruby, the last would help her once more be youthful and live eternally.
She tut-tuts and tells the Knight to ‘put the apple away…you shouldn’t offer things like that to old ladies. It isn’t proper.’ Finally, she feels that the Stone and the  Egg were a fair exchange for the Grail, and sends Galaad away. On her next trip to Oxfam, she almost buys an old funny looking lamp- but decides not to, since there isn’t space on the mantelpiece for it.
Galaad still chivalrous after thousands of years, never once taking advantage of the Old Lady, who for her meager life, takes great pride in who she is and what her life has to offer. The best read  in the Book, so far!

7. The price  (from Smoke and Mirrors)
Perhaps the best read on Halloween’s, The Price tells of a Black Cat that is adopted by  the Author’s family, it is well cared for and loved. However, much to the bewilderment of the couple, Black Cat is always found wounded and bleeding each morning. With its best interest at heart, the narrator thinks it might help  if the cat were locked in the basement, far from harm’s way; strange things, bad things start to happen to the family, and the lady of the house, intuitively asks the husband to let the cat out of the
basement - she had commented on its arrival that it was a ‘person.’ Curious and concerned to find out who or what is harming the pet, the narrator stays awake all night- and discovers that the Devil, in guise of a woman, nearly mutilates the Black Cat, who puts up a fight and sends the Devil packing.
Realizing then that the cat is actually protecting his family, the narrator makes a decision to keep it, although guilty for The Price he expects it to pay….creepy.

8. How to talk to girls at parties (from Fragile Things)
The title is most suggestive and narrates the travails of Enn, whose only experience with the fairer sex is mums discussing politics and poetry, and the three girls he’s kissed. Understandably envious of Vic, his pal who has a way with women, Enn follows him around like a woebegone pup waiting for a treat. When it’s his turn to finally meet someone, Gaiman sets up an encounter with ‘alien women’ who want to fertilize him with a memetic virus transmitted verbally , in the form of a poem-such that the entire human race will be transformed. This alien-girl called Triolet sings him a poem, believing that if he hears it, it will change him. The story may have meant to thrill, but actually grosses you out and one can understand when Vic throws up after an encounter with a girl, who was also an extraterrestrial creature. Best avoided.

9. Sunbird (from Noisy Outlaws)
Augustus TwoFeathers McCoy, Professor Mandalay, Virginia Boote, Jackie Newhouse and Zebediah Crawcrustle are looking for something new to sink their teeth into - literally. The five are members of an epicurean club and have tried everything - from the exotic to the bizarre - and are raring, hungry for more. Mammoths, sloths, fruit bat, panda - have all traveled through their entrails.
And then they lament the fact that Man is no longer on the menu - served after electrocution (this is  getting more gut churning and sick) , thankfully they aren’t after man-meat, but instead decide to travel to Cairo to hunt the elusive Sunbird (Phoenix).
The Sunbird is set to come to Earth when the planet is closest to the Sun, and as the beauteous creature floats down, it is soon served on a platter to the five - who devour it with gusto. No sooner had they finished eating,  their innards feel like they are being set ablaze, and as they burn to white ash, a new generation of birds is born, a man who rises from the ashes like a Phoenix and a young girl…bizarre, avoidable.

10. The witch's headstone (from Dark Alchemy: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy)
Nobody ‘Bod’ Owens, the human creature among the dead, decides to crossover to unconsecrated ground - to where the Witch’s Headstone was supposed to be; she seems a likeable creature, helpful and kind.
Going to great lengths to steal a snakestone, then selling it to a corrupt trader Abanazer, Bod tries his level best to ensure that Lizzie gets her headstone - she healed his broken leg, after all!
When Abanazer  and his goon try and rough him up, Lizzie comes to his rescue, saving him from the kidnappers. Although his guardian Silas is upset that he’s been absconding without anyone knowing, the man-ghost-vampire like creature understands why Bod did what he did.
The story is an excerpt from the Graveyard Book, elaborated for effect for a short, separate story.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Written by Neil Gaiman - Published in 2013

“I liked myths. They weren’t adult stories and they weren’t children’s stories. They were better than that. They just were.”
Amid the hurried lives we lead - weddings and funerals are the punctuated pauses in between when we can recollect that which was, and how it used to be. The anonymous character we meet in the first chapter wanders away from a funeral, to a lane where he once lived, more than thirty years ago; he meanders to the end of the lane where his friend once lived, here he stops by a duck pond -
‘Lettie Hempstock’s ocean.
I remembered that, and, remembering that, I remembered everything.’
The first of the memories we encounter begin with the poignant 7th birthday party – it would ring a bell in most minds, weren’t you nervous at that age –that you’d throw a party to which no one came? However, displaying surprising maturity for a seven year old - the child never tries to find out why no one turned up –“I did not need to ask them. They were not my friends, after all. They were just the people I went to school with.”
Like some quiet reticent kids, he has books for friends, and a cat called Fluffy. They were inseparable, the cat made up for the absence of human friends in the child’s life. But one day, the young person is introduced to death by the tragic loss of Fluffy (as a child many a reader would be reminded of how he was told ‘Rover’s in doggy-heaven’). And the opal miner in check shirt and thick pale gold chain thought he would make up for the loss of the beloved feline by getting a replacement - a ginger cat called Monster. The ill tempered cat lived with the child for a week, a week in which the memory of Fluffy may have felt betrayed by the angry substitute, yet the kid stoically continues to withhold his sorrow and dismay from the world outside (‘I wanted to cry for my kitten, but I could not do that if anyone else was there and watching me.’), after all - he still had a cat!




Gaiman draws on his own (and somewhat macabre) childhood memory of the loss of his parents’ car - in the book, the child discovers the car is stolen, and when the police get it back, he rushes to retrieve his copy of SMASH! with Batman, only to find it lodged under the corpse of the man who stole the car, and chose to then die in it. Upon further discovery, he learns it was the opal miner, who left a note:
 “To all my friends,
“Am so sorry it was not like I meant to and hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me for I cannot forgive myself.”
What was that again about black cats crossing one’s path?
Despite that very disturbing turn of events, the child finds a friend, not a book or an animal - but an apple cheeked, red-brown hair, gray-blue eyed girl from Hempstock farm (which was in the great Domesday Book survey executed for William the Conqueror in 1086), who gave him warm porridge with blackberry jam, and then led him to her ‘ocean’, gave him a  sixpence coin from the gut of  a dead fish (for luck), and  memories to last a lifetime.
The opal miner’s unhappy spirit  comes to haunt the street - and since he had loved money enough to steal it from his friends - his ghost starts to haunt people with ‘money trouble’, including the young boy.
The child is elated he has a handsome twenty five pounds inheritance, and coins dug up from his garden - but he wakes up choking in the night - a silver coin lodged in his throat. Lettie all knows grandmother, who was there ‘the day the moon came’, tells him the coin is new, although the date suggests it’s older. Lettie and ‘Him’ embark on an adventure to ‘Bind it, close its ways, send it back to sleep.” It - the opal miner’s spirit.
With instructions from Lettie to never let go of her hand, and the promise that she would protect him - the two are confronted by giant worms, gray raggedy creatures with nothing in them, and when they return - something is lodged in his foot. He sits in the bathroom, tugging into the hole with a pair of tweezers, and pulls out a dark and light gray, pink-streaked worm, which he lets go in the bath plug hole.
The worm makes a comeback in the form of Ursula, the housekeeper, who takes over his entire life, endearing herself to his family, to the extent; his father almost drowns him in the bath tub as she stands by watching. Most days, he’s trying to get away from Ursula’s prying eyes, and finally he manages to escape to the Hempstock Farm-where Granny Hempstock asks Ursula to return, she of course puts up a fight, but is killed by ‘varmints’ –who then want to kill the boy, because Ursula’s heart is still lodged in his foot. Lettie though, sacrifices her life, and saves him from death.  Her mother wades into the pond, with Lettie’s limp body in her arms, and she is finally laid to rest in her watery abode.
While still leading the obscure life of a child, he finds a black kitten with ‘unusual eyes’, and names her ‘Ocean’. When he came to, in the present, the boy was left with no memory of his escapades - and believes Lettie migrated to Australia; as he sat , freshly arrived from  his trip down memory lane, old Mrs. Hempstock pays him a visit. She tells him Lettie is still healing, not yet ready to awaken. As he leaves, he is peaceful, and his memories fade into the past.
Neil Gaiman’s wife Amanda “doesn’t really like fantasy”, so the modest 178-page turner novella for adults is a brilliant “memory meets magic” work of fiction – worth the eight year wait! The Master of Myth creates a melting pot of the supernatural, horror and allegory- the obsession we have with money and power, the deceit that permeates our lives, are underlying themes of the tale. The book has debuted at no.1 at the New York Times Best Seller List.

Anansi Boys - A book by Neil Gaiman - Published in 2005

“The Dreamer awakes

The shadow goes by

The tale I have told you,

That tale is a lie.

But listen to me,

Bright maiden, proud youth

The tale is a lie;

What it tells is the truth.” ― Traditional folktale ending

“ANANSI”- the spider…miniscule, tiny, deadly. The Anansi (Nanzi, for short, and in our story-Nancy) lives in Florida, father to Fat Charlie, his accountant son, who craves the freedom to step out of his father’s shadow, maintaining the physical distance by living in South London.

Nancy Sr. (whom we last met in American Boys) is quite the ladies man, and whilst charming buxom members of the fairer sex one evening in a karaoke bar - he comes to a sticky end. 

Nancy Jr. - Fat Charlie travels to Florida to dispense with his filial duties, and is told by Mrs. Callyanne Higgler, a family friend that late Nancy Sr. was actually the reincarnation of the West African spider god Anansi. And before Charlie can start to believe he maybe endowed with some of the magical qualities his father had- the lady dampens his spirits and tells him of his spider-brother-Spider. In a drunken stupor, Charlie whispers to a lil’ arachnid he’d love a visit from his sibling.

In the morning Spider pays a visit, stepping in and out through an old picture. The swashbuckling, suave sibling is saddened and shocked to hear of their father’s demise. That evening, the two brothers drown their sorrows in a pub, and the next morning, as Charlie misses work, nursing a hangover, Spider appears in his guise at work. Here he pushes back the rug to see the dirt beneath it; the Messrs. Graham Coat Agency has been embezzling funds galore. He also discovers his brother’s lovely fiancée Rose Noah.
Performing his duties to the T, Spider sheds light on the financial irregularities at the Agency, and in order to get him out of the way, a fat cheque and holiday are planned. Off course this is a case of mistaken identity, doppelgänger gone bad. Fed up, Charlie travels once more to Orlando, to seek Mrs. Higgler’s help - she leads him to her friend, who, with some abracadabra-meets-bibbity-babbity-boo black magic, gets him to travel back in time - where he confronts creatures unwilling to help him, thanks to Nancy Sr. being such a cad and what not.
Finally, Bird Woman agrees to help in exchange for the Anansi bloodline. On the other hand, Maeve Livingstone, a harassed client of the Agency confronts Grahame with regard to her late husband’s swindled royalties, threatening to sue him. The wily serpent agrees to return the money, and as the poor woman is about to leave - he kills her mercilessly, hiding the body in a closet. The woman haunts the Agency, and refuses to go into the afterlife unless she is able to get her hands on Grahame Coats. She even meets the ghost of Anansi, who teaches her to use cleverness and skill instead of strength, to get what she wants.
Charlie is arrested for fraudulent financial practices and Spider tells the truth about himself - she is inconsolable and unforgiving. She sails away on a cruise with her mother, when she chances upon Grahame, and the pair is kidnapped by him, imprisoned in his basement. Spider is now aware that the constant attacks on his person have something to do with Charlie - he spirits him out in guise of his attorney Mr.Merryman, to Skopsie, where they reach the conclusion that they both stand to lose if the Anansi bloodline is compromised.
Charlie is freed from prison, and he helps recover Maeve’s body; he seeks Mrs. Higgler’s help to solve his travails, but is directed to Mrs. Dunwiddy who explains how she hexed him, that Spider and Charlie are two sides of the same coin. This charges Charlie to seek his ‘other half’, restores his tongue and the bloodline. However, Grahame is taken over by the fearsome Tiger, who plots to kill Rosie, thus getting even with Spider. But Anansi and Maeve get the better of him, and he is eliminated in the real world.
Charlie, heady with success, still at the beginning of Time, with the aid of Spider, shuts Grahame Coats and Tiger in a cave, sealing their fates. Coats  is now renamed “Stoats”, in keeping with his weasel - like nature. Charlie relinquishes all emotional ties with Rose, and she marries Spider - they have no children, an act of rebellion to antagonize his mother-in-law; Charlie finds a soul mate in Daisy Day, a policewoman he met at the pub, they have a son Marcus. Meanwhile, old Anansi looks on from beyond with approval at his offspring.
Neil Gaiman’s pen successfully blends fantasy with myriad shades of reality, lending an air of veracity. The Author has to his credit over twenty fantasy novels and short stories. He is known for his connotative and indirect approach in writing, most of his works are monomyths, where the hero is transported from this world to the next, where he, dauntless and unafraid, battles forces beyond his control.
The Book won the Locus, Mythopoeic, YALSA ALEX, and British Fantasy Awards in 2006. It has also been adapted as a radio play for the BBC World Service.