The Cloud of Unknowing (Otto Penzler Book) (Hardcover)

by Thomas H. Cook (Author) "We lived on Victor Hugo Street in a rambling, dilapi-dated house that was the family's last remaining asset..." (more)
Key Phrases: green pillow, evidence for suspicion, ligature marks, Bill Carnegie, Dover Gorge, Cheddar Man (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Jason Regan, a severely schizophrenic child, is found drowned in a pond behind his family's home in this unusual, chilling mystery from Edgar-winner Cook (Red Leaves). Jason's mother, Diana, believes that her ex-husband, Mark, has murdered their son. The story is narrated by Diana's brother, Dave Sears, who comes to believe Diana has gone insane. Dave has good reason to think so; their father was a raving paranoid schizophrenic. Cook employs a curious narrative structure, dividing the story into two alternating sections: one in which Dave is being interviewed by a police detective about an unnamed crime, written in second-person, and another that Dave narrates in first-person. In the beginning it's unclear if a crime occurred at all; the police rule that Jason walked into the pond on his own. Then it appears that there was not only one murder but possibly two, three or even four. Cook reveals all the pieces of the shocking story with an absolutely steady hand. It's a bravura performance. (Jan.)
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Mania and mythology are among the intriguing topics tackled in this latest mystery from Edgar winner Cook. David and Diana Sears were raised by a paranoid schizophrenic father, who dispensed arduous intellectual quizzes and flew into frightening fits of rage. In his father's twisted world, David existed only in his brilliant sister's shadow; he was "checkers" to her "chess." When the father (referred to only as "the Old Man") dies, David is happy to see Diana getting on with her life. She marries a brainy biochemist and has a son, Jason. But it quickly becomes clear that Jason is not like other children: Could he have inherited his grandfather's devastating disease? When the boy drowns in the pond beyond just beyond his parents' rural Connecticut home, Diana resists police reports labeling his death an accident. She is certain Jason was murdered. She is soon sending David faxes and e-mails about ancient crimes and forming a disturbing attachment to David's impressionable teenage daughter. Is Diana slowly going insane? In crisp, chilling prose, Cook (Red Leaves, The Chatham School Affair) deftly juxtaposes the maddeningly complex Sears family and a straight-shooting detective "rooted in a world where crimes leap like fish from crystal streams of motivation." Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151012601
• ISBN-13: 978-0151012602
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #679,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Game of Writer and Reader, February 17, 2008

By	Russell G. Moore "Fabulous Writer" (North Ridgeville, OH) - See all my reviews

Thomas H. Cook is at the top of his game as he writes The Cloud of Unknowing. A well thought out mystery which ended surprisingly yet somewhat predictably. I guess that when reading a mystery novel, you are playing a game with the writer, a game you would rather lose. In The Cloud of Unknowing, I think I won, or at least tied.

It is an amazingly written story that, though I could predict the ending, had a few really good red herrings thrown in just to cast the shadow of doubt on my own sleuthing abilities.

T.H. Cook has been my favorite author for a couple years now, and this book is one of the reasons why.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from the master of suspense, January 18, 2007

By	Larry Gandle (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

David Sears is a small town lawyer with a troubled family history. His father was schizophrenic, his sister, Diana, is schizophrenic as was her son Jason, who recently drowned. Diana suspects that her husband, Mark, is responsible for Jason's death in that his condition was an embarrassment and inconvenience for him. Diana begins to collect information on ancient murders as if the Earth itself is a witness to her son's death. David becomes very concerned when his daughter, Patty, is slowly drawn into his sister's suspicions. He fears for his daughter while being troubled about his sister. Things particularly heat up when Diana begins to send threatening messages to her ex-husband, Mark. David must establish some sort of control on the situation before others get hurt. Yet, from the first page we are told the story involves four deaths- so who are the victims?
In a sense, every book written by Thomas H. Cook, places the reader under a cloud of unknowing. Again, there is a family mystery which only slowly and inexorably begins to weave its web while only giving out small bits of information until the very end when almost all is revealed but never quite the whole picture. This latest book is even more puzzling in the beginning and does take it's time in establishing the mystery. Told in a first person narrative form alternating with a police interrogation, the reader is given information only from David's perspective as he takes his time divulging all. The writing is, as usual, lyrical and evokes well the small town setting. The fact that we know almost from page one that there will be four deaths before the end of the novel and the fact that David is in prison, adds to the increasingly heightened suspense. What did David do wrong and who died? The solution is both surprising, satisfying and just a bit mystifying. This is another superb work by one of the suspense genre's master storyteller's.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best In Mystery, January 23, 2007

By	Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Thomas H. Cook is one of the few crime writers who consistently give us literate, intelligent, carefully crafted suspense novels, and his new title is one of his best. THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING is the story of a family plagued by mental illness, and the murder and mayhem that result from it. There is something inexorable, almost fatalistic, about the evil that permeates these people, and Cook's masterful tale builds from a quiet beginning to a harrowing finale. That is his signature, the theme he comes back to in all his stories. You won't soon forget these characters, and they make you think about your own family and friends in a new way.

The very best crime writers show us the horror in everyday life, and that is Cook's specialty. This novel joins BREAKHEART HILL, THE CHATHAM SCHOOL AFFAIR, and RED LEAVES at the top of my list of favorite "Cook books." Highly recommended.