Blog tour: The Beresford by Will Carver

The Beresford

This post is part of a blog tour organised by Random Things Blog Tours. I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

“Just outside the city – any city, every city – is a grand, spacious but affordable apartment building called The Beresford.

“There’s a routine at The Beresford. For Mrs May, every day’s the same: a cup of cold, black coffee in the morning, pruning roses, checking on her tenants, wine, prayer and an afternoon nap. She never leaves the building.

“Abe Schwartz also lives at The Beresford. His housemate Sythe no longer does. Because Abe just killed him. In exactly sixty seconds, Blair Conroy will ring the doorbell to her new home and Abe will answer the door. They will become friends. Perhaps lovers.

“And, when the time comes for one of them to die, as is always the case at The Beresford, there will be sixty seconds to move the body before the next unknowing soul arrives at the door.

“Because nothing changes at The Beresford, until the doorbell rings…”

The Beresford

Will Carver is an author whose books I’ve been meaning to check out for a while now, but I just never got around to them. The Beresford is a definite incentive to read everything else he’s written! The premise, that there’s an apartment building where previously non-violent residents keep winding up murdering one another, is not only highly original but also very well-executed.

We meet a selection of residents as they pass through The Beresford. Whether they’re there for a longer or shorter time, or turn out to be killer or victim (or both), they’re all really well fleshed-out and you get to know all about their habits, hopes, and dreams. If they got killed, I felt the loss, and if they killed someone, it was really interesting to see how they reacted and how they set about disposing of the body. It’s gruesome, but also a lot of fun.

I never knew who was going to murder who next, which really kept me turning the pages. The Beresford’s delightfully sinister proprietor, Mrs May, is also full of surprises as you come to realise she isn’t the sweet old lady she first appears. I also enjoyed the threads of social commentary and musings on religion that run through the book.

The Beresford is entertaining, highly original, and deliciously dark.

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About Alice Violett

Writer of blogs and short stories, reader of books, player of board games, lover of cats, editor of web content, haver of PhD.

Colchester, UK https://www.draliceviolett.com