Dispossession

by Chaz Brenchley

Jonathan wakes up in hospital and is told he has been involved in a car crash. He doesn't remember the last three months, and the doctors say he's only been there three days. He also doesn't remember the woman by his bedside who says she is his wife, but she has the pictures that seem to prove it.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy

378 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 1997

About the author

Chaz Brenchley has been making a living as a writer since he was eighteen. He is the author of nine thrillers, most recently Shelter, and two major fantasy series: The Books of Outremer, based on the world of the Crusades, and Selling Water by the River, set in an alternate Ottoman Istanbul. A winner of the British Fantasy Award, he has also published three books for children and more than 500 short stories in various genres. His time as Crimewriter-in-Residence at the St Peter's Riverside Sculpture Project in Sunderland resulted in the collection Blood Waters. He is a prizewinning ex-poet, and has been writer in residence at the University of Northumbria, as well as tutoring their MA in Creative Writing. His novel Dead of Light is currently in development with an independent film company; Shelter has been optioned by Granada TV. He was Northern Writer of the Year 2000, and lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with a quantum cat and a famous teddy bear.

Also known as author Daniel Fox.

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy Brenchley's writing style, but this book just didn't work for me. Started out mildly intriguing, but none of the characters were either interesting or likable enough to actually get me invested in anything that was going on - and that was before the weird angel stuff came into play.

[Sue Chant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as his short stories. It didn't seem to know which genre it wanted to be. Started out as a crime/mystery - man in hospital wakes up with amnesia to find he has a wife he doesn't know and is working for a local crime boss - then brings in an all-powerful angel to do the dirty work. Unsatisfying.

[K.V. Johansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thriller with almost unbearable psychological suspense and a touch of the supernatural. I can drown in Brenchley's words. He's just always -- right. In every word.

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off pretty good, but the ending wasn’t great. Jonty wakes up in the hospital after a car accident with no memory of the previous three months, a wife he doesn’t know, and a criminal for a boss. The story is his attempt to figure out what happened during those three months. The investigation is interesting enough, but I really didn’t believe the conclusion. There is also a fallen angel floating around who seems very out of place. I can’t say much about him without spoilers because he moves things along in a very deus ex machina manner.

This is a standalone novel.

[Lisa Eckstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Chaz Brenchley read the beginning of DISPOSSESSION at FOGcon, and I knew I was going to have to buy the book so I could find out what happens next.

At the start of the novel, Jonty wakes up in a hospital and is surprised to discover that the woman cradling his aching head isn't the one he's loved and shared his life with for years but instead a complete stranger. His surprise turns to utter confusion when this mystery woman claims to be his wife.

Jonty soon discovers that he's been in an accident and lost all memory of the past three months of his life. They've apparently been busy ones. During this missing time, he's not only married a woman he can't remember, he's also become involved in a host of nefarious activities that make no sense with what he knows about himself. The story unfolds as a fascinating mystery in which a man investigates his own recent past.

I previous read the author's HOUSE OF DOORS and was impressed by the storytelling, so I had no doubt that DISPOSSESSION would be a satisfying read. Jonty's mystery becomes more puzzling the deeper he delves, with more strange factors coming into play, but by the end, all questions are answered. There's a good deal of graphic violence along the way, so this is not a story for everyone, but if you have the stomach for it, I recommend it.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, with all its twists and turns and of course the characters.
I love how Brenchley can put the extrodinary in the ordinary world and make it seem so real and believable. The depth of his characters means that they matter to the reader and you are caught up fully in their adventures, sorrows and joy.
I can't fault this book, I found it well paced with a great plot and characters I could believe in even though one of them was so extraodinary! I read it in one sitting and have re-read it since and it was still as good as the first time reading.
This is an author I really like and expect great things from.

[Trudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really like this one - except for a weird scene in the middle which I didn't really understand! The plot is great.

[Charybdis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great storyteller, silly story.