Matt Thorne, Cherry

Matt Thorne, Cherry - Steve hasn't had sex in twelve years. He's bored with his job, alienated and withdrawn, too picky to be able to form relationships. So when he meets an old man in a pub, who arranges for him to meet his ideal woman (perfect right down to eye colour and date of birth), he falls for the bait...

The book starts off enjoyably - an intriguing situation, a protagonist who engages interest, if not sympathy - and Thorne writes well, in a fluid, detached style that suits his protagonist's character perfectly. However, as the story proceeds, the reader becomes less and less certain that Thorne knows how to resolve the mystery he has set up. Who is Cherry? Where is she from? What is her relationship to the old man? The reader wants to know, but the melodramatic last few pages and the cheap twist of an ending are hardly enough. Until the last third, this is an intelligent, absorbing read, but the conclusion feels like a massive betrayal of all that has gone before, suggesting only how little Thorne respects his readers.