A blast of winter makes perfect reading weather and mystery novels can be the ideal accompaniment for a cozy night in. S N Little’s first novel, THE CURE, recently published, hooks the reader in with some common tropes, starting with medical student Aurelia Kingston who has her fair share of trauma. She’s still grieving the untimely death of her father four years ago, and her mother’s alcoholism remains an ongoing problem she must contend with. In the face of this adversity, Aurelia still manages to maintain top marks, winning the heart of charming beau Angus along the way. It looks like things are finally starting to look up for her. The novel starts with a straightforward plot and the characters are familiar. It’s all pretty tame so it’s fairly easy reading up to this point.
But this is when things take a turn. Just as we have settled into the town of Brunswick Shire, there is a dramatic shift as Aurelia suddenly finds herself trapped. Where is she? How did she get there? Why is she there? As Aurelia comes to terms with her new surroundings and searches for answers, we discover that her trusted professor Alister is not all he appears to be. Initially introduced as a caring mentor, we quickly realise he is more of a cross between Dr Frankenstein and Jane Eyre’s Mr Rochester. Trying to make sense of what is happening and why, there are many questions that I push to the side, suspending disbelief to go with the flow of the novel. Of course, the title of the novel gives us a clue as to why she has been kidnapped. To this end, Little goes to some length to explain the science and it gives some plausibility to the plot, but the technicalities discovered in the lab largely goes over my head as I am satisfied with getting to the gist of what is going on: A cure is needed, and Alister has decided that Aurelia will help find the solution he’s been looking for, whether she likes it or not. And so, our heroine must do whatever she can to stay alive.
Without offering too many spoilers, the twists and turns keep coming, keeping the reader on their toes. I found myself turning back pages to keep up which was confusing at times. An unexpected shift in the narrative point of view changed the pact and the resolution felt rushed, ending the wild ride but leaving me with questions that will remain a mystery.
