Review #175: The Prophecy of Bees by R.S. Pateman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



“Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.”

----Edgar Allan Poe

R.S. Pateman, an English author, has penned a spine-chilling and intriguing tale about old manors, small English countrysides, folklore, trumpets and bees in his latest thriller-cum-horror novel, The Prophecy of Bees.





Synopsis:

When Lindy, a recently widowed American expat, buys a large manor house in the Cotswolds, she thinks it’s the fresh start she and her wayward daughter Izzy need. Stagcote Manor is a large, rambling house with a rich history and Lindy is thrilled at the prospect of their new life there.

Izzy, however, is less convinced. She longs to be back in the hustle and bustle of London. There's something unnerving about the house that she can’t quite put her finger on. And as Izzy begins to immerse herself in Stagcote life, she gradually realizes the locals have a lot of strange and disturbing superstitions, many of them related to the manor.

When Izzy begins to investigate the history of the house, her unease soon darkens to fear as the manor’s dark past finally comes to light.


Isabella along with her mother, Lindy, leaves their posh upstate home in London to their new manor in Cotswolds for a fresh start in their lives. Upon their arrival, Isabella, a.k.a, Izzy started to realize the unnatural essence of some one's presence in the air. Slowly mystery started to unfold when one unnatural event after another happens in the manor forcing Izzy to believe the impossible, on the other hand, her mom, Lindy thinks the opposite. Lindy believes that her rebellious daughter who didn't want to throw away her London life, is concocting stories to force them go back to their home in London. Will Izzy be able to make her mother believe about the legends surrounding the manor which if not paid heed to might kill them, like those other manor residents?

The plot building is done brilliantly by the author. As the story progresses, tension builds up gradually at every nook and corner thus keeping us thoroughly engrossed within it. The writing is fantastic and in a way- gripping with carefully chosen words. The visual imagery of the whole backdrop is quite vivid thus letting us see every detailing of this weird and old manor. The more we read, the more we lose ourselves in the underlying mystery of this manor. The author has woven the mystery layer-by-layer running deep into the heart of the story which contains an entangled web of conundrum.

The characters are well-developed unfortunately they lacked bit of realism. The characters had lot of flaws, especially the central character, Izzy, a 17year old feisty teenager is often loud not only through her mannerisms but also through her narration. Izzy's mother, Lindy is a firm and confident woman who makes sure to provide a better living for her daughter against her daughter's wishes, thus creating a tension between this mother-daughter relationship all throughout the book. And I believe the situation that the author tried to depict through his story about Izzy's issues on moving to a old, backward town away from the humdrum of the city life, can be related with our lives. The supporting characters are striking enough to keep us engaged in their conversations.

I think, I would love to give 10 stars out of 5 to this book because of it's mind-blowing climax, which managed to threw me off the edge. So please don't try to anticipate the climax, since the author has tightly wrapped his mystery with threads of complex twists and turns. The mystery is too good and the fear and panic that the author creates with his tale is edgy and haunting, thus forcing us to keep turning the pages of the book until we see it's end. And technically, the main character of this book are a bunch of bees, and if you don't believe in their humming noise, ah well, you're in grave danger, my friend!

Verdict: This book will appeal to the horror and mystery genre readers!

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, R.S. Pateman, for giving me the opportunity to read and review his book. 
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Author Info:
“The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it.”
If Schopenhauer is correct then the next thirty years are going to feature stories about:

Harold Hill, Essex – where I grew up in a children’s home run by my parents.
St Edward’s School, Romford – I sucked up everything my English and history teachers threw at me. Everything thrown by the science, maths and metalwork departments however, bounced back.
Warwick University – apparently I studied history.
Nightclubs, travel companies, play projects, gay newspapers, advertising agencies - all of which have provided me with varying degrees of financial reward, job satisfaction and sleepless nights.
Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Rotterdam, Frankfurt and the Cotswolds – places I have tried to either escape to or escape from. Usually both.
Kennington Park – south London’s first public park, whose fortunes I helped restore by co-founding the Friends group in 2002. It now boasts a coveted Green Flag for excellence in a public space – and I have a bad back, dirty fingernails and a proud smile.
Psychics, history, illusions, dancing, colitis, tennis, dogs, déjà vu, celibacy, bombs, bullying, swimming, rabbits, cosmic twins, bare trees, music, walks, Southern Comfort, Coronation Street.
Boosie – there before the start, there beyond the end.
Visit  him here


Book Purchase Links:

• Amazon US
• Amazon India