Elizabeth Knox's latest novel, Wake (VUP), is properly creepy. It's the sort of book that'll have you up late at night, convinced you can hear strange noises outside your bedroom window. As gory as it is compelling, it's also a distinctly New Zealand story, despite being firmly in the realms of the supernatural genre.
At first glance the scenario does have a dusted-off, recycled quality. You may feel you've read or seen similar things before. But what Knox does with the basic plot is inventive, keenly observant and makes for a great read.
The story begins on an ordinary morning in the Tasman Bay settlement of Kahukura. Suddenly its inhabitants are overtaken by mass insanity, killing themselves and each other in the vilest of ways. Afterwards, there is only a handful of people left alive and they find themselves trapped within an invisible force field, unable to communicate with the outside world.
To survive they must band together and re-establish some sort of order. But that isn't easy. There are personality clashes, tussles for power and moral dilemmas, there is attraction and desperation, and unbeknownst to all but one of them, they are being stalked by an invisible entity that is preying on their pain and weaknesses.
