The Hidden Keys

This book was a fun puzzle story, easy to read with some unusual and interesting characters. It had great pace and a light hearted touch, it was a love letter to the city of Toronto in the way Ian Rankin writes Edinburgh. It isn't an earth shattering book that stays with you, but it is a pleasant read to while away the hours.

Willow is an ageing heroin addict, the daughter of an extremely wealthy man who has recently died, leaving each of his five children very well off. However, each child is also left a mysterious object which Willow believes is a clue to an even greater fortune. Obviously to solve the puzzle, all five objects must be examined but the other family members are unwilling to part with their gifts. Willow therefore resorts to less conventional methods and recruits Tancred, a sophisticated but strangely ethical thief, to help her “borrow” the other four objects. It soon transpires that Willow is not the only person who has embarked on this “treasure hunt” and things begin to get complicated.

Very unusually for me I finished this book in 3 days (I am a very slow reader so this is very fast). It is short, but it is also unputdownable – if that isn’t a word already, then it should become one. I loved this book. It is a puzzle book, although the readers don’t have to solve the puzzle themselves. A great book, one that I would have loved to have written if I had the ability, the creativity and the imagination. Sadly I don’t have any of the above, which is why there are authors like Andre Alexis to do it for me. I think the only other book that I have felt this way about was Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell which also has cryptic and complex enigmas as an integral part of the story.

Populated by eccentrics and oddballs, this book introduces a wonderfully eclectic mix of characters. The author creates a world of unconventionality, both in terms of the inhabitants of the world and the quest upon which they embark within it. It is a delicious and utterly captivating combination.

I don’t think I can find a single negative comment to make about this book – very rare for me so it must be good!!

Although I have never read any books by this author before I will certainly be looking out for others, especially if they are written in a similar vein. Good job Andre.

A thief makes a promise to a heroin addict and, contrary to popular perception, carries out his commitment after her death. This is a well-worked mystery, the clues all there, but will the reader be able to spot them? A super-rich father sets a treasure hunt for his children to solve but only one realises it is not just a dying man giving personal gifts to his children. And she dies before the tale unravels. Enjoy.