The Ghost Theatre begins with a London rooftop chase worthy of Mission: Impossible. Our young heroine, Shay, hurtles above Eastcheap and St Peter’s Hill, St Paul’s Church a landmark in the near distance. “She came down with a crash, sending a flock of pigeons skywards in a soft explosion of feathers. They spread like a fountain and she repeated the catechism under her breath: The gods are birds and the birds are gods. She let its cadence guide her feet. The gods – step – are birds – step – and the birds – step – are gods – leap.”
In his debut, 2020’s The Ruins, Mat Osman proved himself to be a vivid and imaginative writer. That was the story of two brothers, a 21st-century tale of murder and mystery that embraced the fantastical as it moved through London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas. It was published just before the first Covid lockdown, when our collective attention was understandably elsewhere. But Osman, bassist and founding member of the British band Suede, knows something about perseverance. His second novel is another wild ride, a vigorous adventure that reinforces the sense of an author with energy and wit to spare.
