Natural History

Searching for mythical beasts, a family ignores the monster in their backyard

It all started with the death of an ape. This is not so odd in Monkeyland, Patrick and Jane’s monkey sanctuary and last-ditch attempt to revive their flagging marriage. But there was something different about this dead ape, and Patrick soon becomes obsessed with uncovering the mystery surrounding its death.

Meanwhile, Jane’s in Zaire shooting a nature show and possibly cheating on Patrick with the producer; their son, Charlie, was fired from the sanctuary after an altercation with a customer; and daughter Jo is home from boarding school but may as well have stayed for all they see her.

Then there’s the predatory cat stalking the periphery of the dilapidated zoo, dodging just out of sight, evading capture, and driving Patrick’s obsession to a fever pitch. While Jane and Patrick follow their preoccupations, searching for wild beasts, they manage to ignore the one growing in their midst. Finally, a gruesome act forces the family to come to terms with a dark reality.

Natural History is a creeping killer of a novel, a patient, slow burn of a thriller by the creator ofLuther, with an explosive, unexpected climax that will keep readers guessing all the way to the end.

Neil Cross (b. 1969) is a British novelist and screenwriter best known as the creator of the multiaward-winning international hit BBC crime seriesLuther, starring Idris Elba, and the international hit horror movie Mama. His highly acclaimed memoir,Heartland, was shortlisted for the PEckerley Prize in 2006. Cross has also written several thrillers, includingCaptured, Holloway Falls, and Always the Sun, which was longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Cross continues to write for TV and film in the United Kingdom and the United States. He lives with his wife and two sons in Wellington, New Zealand.