Dream of Darkness

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Veteran novelist and mystery writer Hill (Bones and Silence) , crafts a subtle story of psychological suspense set against the background of a troubled land. Sairey Ellis, daughter of a retired civil servant who spent most of his career in Africa, is about to enter Oxford when she begins to have terrifying nightmares about her mother, murdered in Uganda many years previously. Her father, Nigel, now revealed as a secret agent rather than the agricultural advisor he was purported to be, is writing his memoirs, exposing stealthy British manipulation in various African countries after they achieved independence. Sairey is treated by psychiatrist Vita Gray, an old friend of the family, who aims to help the girl find the truth the dreams suggest. Moving between the present and various memoir entries, the narrative gradually reveals the relationship between Sairey's parents and a Ugandan family trying to escape from Idi Amin. Allan Bright, son of a mixed marriage in that family, survives the treachery that destroyed the rest and now meets Sairey and Nigel in London where the the stage is set for another betrayal. The author adeptly depicts the sour underbelly of international politics and the turmoil surrounding the development of modern Africa. Mystery Guild alternate selection (Feb.)

Library Journal

Ruell is actually noted mystery writer Reginald Hill. In London 18-year-old Sairey Ellis suffers from a recurring, debilitating nightmare that shows the young Sairey viewing the open coffin of her mother in Uganda years ago. That did not happen, say her retired British security officer father, Nigel, and his sister, who raised Sairey after her mother's death. Sairey's analysis-prompted returning memory of the brief time with her mother in Uganda holds the key to her nightmare and seems to threaten family and friends--as does Nigel, who is writing his African memoirs. Plot and characters are clearly developed through a narrative that focuses on Sairey but is interspersed with varying first-person accounts ``excerpted'' from letters, diaries, and Nigel's memoirs. A suspenseful work done well--a Hill title by any other name still reads as sweetly. Mystery Guild featured alternate.-- V. Louise Saylor, Eastern Wash ington Univ. Lib., Cheney