The Man from Primrose Lane: A NovelJames Renner
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, February 2012
ISBN: 978-0374200954
A mind-bending, genre-twisting debut novel
In his first novel, James Renner blends his investigative-journalist background and flair for bending genres to create David Neff, a burnt-out true crime writer struggling to raise his young son four years after his wife’s still-inexplicable suicide.
Left with a raging case of post traumatic stress disorder following the completion of his first book which required him to delve into the disturbing world of trafficking pedophiles, David is not sure he’ll ever be able to cope without medication. And he’s frightened when he sees the same obsessive qualities in his young son who spends hours building elaborate machines inspired by the board game Mouse Trap.
David has lived off the fortune made from his first true crime book, cut off from the world and his family and friends. When David’s publisher approaches him about the strange mystery surrounding the death of The Man From Primrose Lane, David quickly finds himself drawn into a strange world of mystery and obsession--and one that has some very odd overtones and connections to his life and that of his deceased wife.
Following the clues, David uncovers one bizarre coincidence after another. One of them involves the abduction of young red-haired girls. One of the girls was the sister of Neff’s wife, who was abducted and apparently murdered when they were ten, and never found. Another girl, who managed to avoid being kidnapped, is Katy Keenan, whose life is meticulously chronicled in notebooks found in The Man from Primrose Lane’s house.
The Man from Primrose Lane is a complex tapestry of genres, plotlines and timelines. Seemingly random diversions and non sequiturs pop up along the way only to be brilliantly revealed as crucial puzzle pieces later. It’s clear that Renner spent a lot of time with the details and subtle hints of The Man from Primrose Lane, and it’s one of those books in which a reader could discover something new upon every re-read.
JAMES RENNER is the author of two books of nonfiction that detail his adventures in investigative journalism: Amy: My Search for Her Killer and The Serial Killer’s Apprentice. His work has been featured in Best American Crime Reporting and Best Creative Nonfiction. He lives in Ohio.
ISBN: 978-0374200954; ISBN10: 0374200955; Imprint: Sarah Crichton Books; On Sale: 2/28/2012; Format: Hardcover; Pages: 384; $26.00
