I approached this a little warily, as I'd been rather disappointed in the previous couple of John Gordon's novels after enjoying The House on the Brink, but thoroughly enjoyed this Grand Guignol romp.

Donald is a young man, working for a local newspaper in his gap year before going to university, who starts to investigate a weird cult who have a fixation with body parts. Set in the late 90s, though suspiciously more like the 70s - computers are mentioned but the author overcomes any need to portray them by having the newspaper editor a Luddite who insists they stick to manual typewriters, not even electric ones - it is told from Donald's first person viewpoint and begins when he witnesses an accident in which a man is struck by a bus. The man seems badly injured, but soon has an amazing recovery although in many ways he resembles to a zombie.

The book features some of Gordon's previously encountered themes such as the fascination exercised by an older woman over a young man, and a young woman who appears fey and shy to begin with but develops into an equal partner - and in this case, one with nerves and stomach of steel - as she and Donald come up against the horrific developments which follow. There was a nice dark humour to the story and it was definitely tongue in cheek in the big climax. Hence a 4-star rating. ( )