Lunchtime read: Les Enfants Terrible

The book ends in the double suicide of Elisabeth and Paul but until the very last second the game is in full flow and they go together to a place no one else can join them.

The end might have seemed inevitable from a pair of young adults who seemed incapable of moving on from childhood but it is hastened by the actions of Elisabeth. She is determined to break Paul’s heart by encouraging Gerard to marry Agatha and it is the later who wakens the sister to inform her that Paul has taken poison – ironically supplied by the person who hit him at the start with the snowball.

As Paul is dying Agatha nurses him and they realise what Elisabeth has done and her treachery is revealed. She panics and fetches a gun and then focuses in only on Paul. As she feels he has taken his dying breath she pulls the trigger but not before their eyes have met and the bond of the game has been sealed forever.

A review will follow soon on what has been a provoking read…