VENA CORK – The Art of Dying. Headline, UK, hardcover, 2005; paperback, 2006.

   In Thorn (2004), previous to the events taking place in this follow-up novel, Rosa Thorn lost her husband, celebrated Jamaican-born artist Rob Thorn, in a hit-and-run accident, then found that her daughter was being stalked by a shadowy figure who turned their life into a nightmare.

   Now, in The Art of Dying, in the wake of an exhibition of her husband’s last paintings, Rosa herself is stalked by a mysterious figure who she discovers is the half-brother of her late husband. Rosa accepts Joshua into her family but becomes increasingly concerned that he’s something other than the loving brother-in-law he initially appears to be.

   Rosa’s relationship with Josh is not her only problem, as all of her personal relationships seem to be foundering in misunderstandings and hidden agendas.

   This psychological thriller eventually climaxes in a gothic underground nightmare that some readers may find over the top. I rather enjoyed the plot’s ghoulish turn, but I hope that Cork will let Rosa and her family live out their fictional lives in private, without the perilous complications that could confirm that a series is underway.

EDITORIAL COMMENT. There is a third book in the series, Green Eye (2006), in which Rosa Thorn also appears, but there seems to have been nothing from Vena Cork’s keyboard in the three years since. The books are available in the US only as import editions.

From the Tangled Web site: “Vena Cork is from Lancashire, but has lived in London all her adult life. She attended Homerton College, Cambridge, where she was a member of Cambridge Footlights. She is married to the art critic Richard Cork and lives in North West London.”