Book review: Now You Suffer by Gareth Crocker – his favourite book of the year

It is no spoiler to say that Detective Ruben Ellis wants to die.

He has lost his wife, and in the most horrific circumstances, his daughter Kayla. The only reason Ellis has not killed himself is he has a mission before he takes his own life – to track down the man who kidnapped and murdered his little girl.

His partner, Zander Malan, is not living his best life either. His marriage is about to implode, and he is distraught about losing his wife, Angela.

His friendship with Ellis is deep, born out of mutual respect and the ability to see through each other’s coping mechanisms; if you can say that either man is coping.

Now You Suffer presents itself as a Ruben Ellis thriller. And it certainly is thrilling, but far more than a thriller.

Crocker has proved in his previous novels, Finding Jack, Journey from Darkness, Never Let Go, King and The Last Road Trip, that he is an author of great skill. His use of the language of finding the right word and the right phrase to take his readers along with him is astounding.

In Now Your Suffer there are several narrative strands. The central strand could be said to be one man’s mission to find the man who murdered his little girl, but alongside that is another story about another missing child, a cold case, who is trapped by a monster in a basement.

The sheer depravity of what the girl is put through is ghastly, but, and this is an important point. Crocker allows real horror and violence into the book, however, it is never gratuitous. And, while violence is never amusing, the author handles the most horrific incidents with a skilful sensitivity.

Comparisons may be odious, but Crocker’s writing and style remind me of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie detective series. Odd though it may sound, Crocker writes both tragedy and violence with sometimes slightly wry observations.

The muted humour does not detract from the tragedy of the story. I found they strengthened it by rooting it in everyday life experiences and made it more believable and real.

Ellis and Malan try to solve their cold case and find answers to the disappearance of other missing children, who have all been kidnapped in the same way as Kayla.

Another strand of this complex novel is Melissa Grove, a counsellor who Ellis is forced to visit to keep the bosses happy and as a condition of him being able to work on the missing children’s cases.

This is as good a time as ever to discuss the wonderful characterisation in Now You Suffer.

Grove has an unorthodox approach to her counselling style. But, then again, Ellis is not a conventional client.

The strands of narrative are bound together by the relationships that form between the three main characters, and to add to the complexity and readability of Now Your Suffer the book features an intriguing cameo of characters, including a spider who becomes a terrified little girl’s ‘friend’ as she tries to cope with the horrors visited on her.

Amid urgency and the desire for retribution, reconciliation is also a large feature of the novel. Without letting any spoilers through there are some people who need to reconcile with others, or in even more complex ways make peace with themselves – or not.

Secrets will be revealed throughout the narrative that will keep the reader wanting to keep reading just one more page.

“It certainly had me up into the early hours of the morning, and then re-reading it for the sheer pleasure of making sure I had caught all the allusions and captured all the action,” shared Burnie.

Without exaggerating, this is Burnie’s book of the year so far. Its humanity and reality glow through the text.
It is also an exegesis of the terrifying power that generational trauma inflicts on each of us, in this case, it is most extreme, but there are also subtle reflections to be found.

“Finally, there is a twist in the tale that gobsmacked me. I didn’t even have a vague feeling that the story would end in the way it did. I also have to say some places in Now You Suffer reduced me to tears, both of sorrow and unexpected joy.

“The great news is this is the first of a series and Crocker is already working on the second book. I am extremely happy about that,” added Burnie.