Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #489265 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-03
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

The Observer, June 2002
DANCING WITH THE UNINVITED GUEST is a book you don't want to put down. (Peter Guttridge)

Review
'Places her firmly in the first division of the newer crime writing generation' (The Times on The Long Close Call )

'A compelling psychological thriller with echoes of Barbara Vine and Minette Walters. Well written, intelligent and chilling' (Val McDermid on A Likeness in Stone )

'Chilling first novel . . . absorbing and genuinely surprising' (Guardian on A Likeness in Stone )

'If you like playing mind games, you'll love this book... This superbly plotted novel goes furhter than your aaverage crime thriller and its psychological thread will keep you on the edge of your seat' (New Woman )

'An intelligent, thoughtful story which leaves the reader on the edge of their seat. Well constructed, beautifully written. It will definitely rank among the best crime books of the year' (Yorkshire Post on The Bird Yard )

'Entertaining debut' (Heat )

'Guaranteed to imitate its plot and end up as a movie blockbuster, making its writer very famous in the process... An La to London love story to rival Notting Hill' (Heat )

'Thrilling it certainly is' (Oldham Evening Chronicle )

'It's a cleverly plotted story that grips the imagination, and a satisfying read, too, as all the strands come together' (Choice )

'Wallis Martin is building up a steady reputation for her psychological thrillers, of which this present one is her forth...you've got a reliable spine chiller' (The Irish Times )

'thrilling it certainly is' (The Oxford Times )

Publishing News, January 2002
DANCING WITH THE UNINVITED GUEST `A taut and intricate thriller - a compulsive read'.

Customer Reviews

Not so gripping
I found it so hard to get into this novel! I found that, even up to halfway through, my thoughts were wandering elsewhere, as both the story and the characters failed to hold my interest. I thought (like a previous reviewer) that there were too many separate threads and characters that didn't really even come together in the end. The idea is a good one. A parapsychologist (who definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural) tries to investigate the apparent demonic haunting of a young man in a spooky old house. She is challenged by a famous psychic (with whom she had an affair in the past), who states that there are paranormal happenings going on, but is he just playing up to the media to increase his fame? Add to this, several missing girls and their various relatives/acquaintances and the parapsychologist's missing husband. What has happened to them all? Is there a spirit world? Do ghosts exist? What could have been a gripping story was, instead, a mish-mash of blind alleys and unsolved questions. I wouldn't really recommend it.

Very disappointing
I don't think I've ever felt let down by the ending of a thriller so much before.
There are many intriguing and seemingly inexplicable happenings that the author throws at you in the first few chapters. I was absolutely fascinated to see how it was all going to be resolved.
Unfortunately most of the events turn out to be unrelated except superficially and I was left wondering what the point of most of it was.
It was a shame because there were a lot of original ideas in a genre where there seems to be very little new.

too much going on
The two previous books of Martin's that I read, Likeness in Stone and Birdyard were so different I could have believed they were written by two different authors. Dancing has the menace of Likeness in Stone and the weltschmerz hopelessness of Birdyard. I felt there were a few too many stories going on in this book and unlike Ruth Rendell, for example, they complicated rather than evolved the story. It is steeped in an old-fashioned gothic novel location but has some confused parapsychology thrown in for good(?) measure. The haunted son of the house is more red herring than stigmatised hero and inevitably is explained away in a late chapter as having little to do with the plot. I feel some editing was needed and as the writing was so traditional the time slips only served to confuse
However having said that it sure beats the hell out of a whole pile of genre novels currently available. I'll read your next one JWM have no fear