Author: Nikki Dudley

Publisher: Sparkling Books

ISBN: 9781907230103 (Hardback) 9781907230189 (Paperback)

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Ellipsis is a thriller that delves into what was not said and the questions that get left behind when someone dies. In this story, the truth seems to be hidden and the reasons for many actions not clear.

Daniel Mansen seems to know the exact time that Alice would push him to his death. This haunts Alice and she becomes obsessed with finding out how he knew and why she pushed him. Daniel's cousin Thom is also plagued by questions regarding the accident and is bent on finding out what Daniel's life was about and if he committed suicide or fell accidentally.

I found this a difficult book to read. I’m not a very big fan of the first person narrative and much prefer to hear the story from the all-knowing narrator. In addition, part of the narration was by a psychologically disturbed woman who had just killed someone.

This is a psychological thriller that asks these questions: how can someone can feel so alienated from everyone around them? How is it even when someone is living in close quarters with people who care, no one around them has any idea how lost they feel?

Alice is plagued by the fact that Daniel expected her to kill him and even knew the exact time when he would. She is more obsessed with this fact than with the guilt of having pushed someone to their death.

Thom is devastated by his cousin’s death. Obsessed with finding out what happens, he gets completely immersed in his grieving and then in making some sense of what happened to his cousin. Old issues connected to losing his parents also begin to haunt him again. As Thom descends further into the darkness, Alice seems to find a little more clarity in her life.

On the whole, this book didn’t work for me - not just because of the subject matter, but also because some parts of it felt unreal or incomplete. The writing was strong and evocative, but the plot itself was not convincing to me.

Thom’s obsession with finding out what happened was not as problematic as the fact that the grieving family accepted a strange woman into the home. I struggled to be understanding about some of the choices that the characters make.

More than a mystery, this is a psychological study. It throws up questions and some understanding of how someone can feel so lost and insignificant and how the people they leave behind cope with a death of someone close to them.

The writing is lovely and very poetic. If you’re interested in a slightly dark psychological study of the human mind, then this is a good book for you.