40 Lime Park Road has sold. So why is the estate agent still visiting?
When I learned Louise Candlish had written a short story featuring characters from ‘The Sudden Departure of the Frasers‘, I was intrigued.
What’s it about?
Estate agent Ryan is so taken by the gorgeous Amber Fraser when he shows her around 40 Lime Park Road that he decides to risk his job and freedom by spying on her.
And…that’s it.
What’s it like?
A little cringey at points, such as when Ryan reflects on the diminishing joy of sexual voyeurism. Surprisingly lacking in momentum and significance. I had expected that the story would add something to my understanding of the original story or characters, or at least create a stir in its own right, but I was disappointed.
It is simply a short tale of a sad man’s creepy actions, with one very strange development that there seems no way of explaining. Ryan doesn’t care and I can only think of one possible, completely implausible answer, so I couldn’t bring myself to care either.
It is a creepy and well-written story, so perhaps it would be more enjoyable if I hadn’t read the work it references, but I think I’d still want more of a twist at the end. (It has reminded me that I really want to read ‘A Pleasure and a Calling‘ by Phil Hogan, the deliciously creepy sounding tale of an estate agent who has kept the keys to every property he’s ever been given access to.)
Final thoughts
I really expected to like this, but, to be brutally honest, I cannot fathom the point of it. Ryan spies. Then it ends. The end.
This is disappointing, especially as I’ve concluded before that one of Candlish’s many skills lies in subtly illuminating what has gone before in a different light at the end of her stories. If that was what she was aiming to do here, then I’m missing something. If not, then this seems to be little more than an attempt to piggyback on the success of a really good novel.
I’d advise reading ‘The Sudden Departure of the Frasers‘, enjoying it, and leaving the story there. Louise Candlish has.