I’ve tried to write a review for Calling Mr Lonely Hearts several times but every time I try to say what this book is about I get stuck. It could be summer brain; my mind just isn’t firing on all cylinders or it could be that I really don’t know what to say about Benedict’s book.

We first meet Roxanne, Del and Alice in the park. Roxanne is casting a spell or conjuring a spirit. It’s really nothing more than a childhood prank, but it has serious repercussions for the three friends. We don’t get too much more information about the girls at this stage except for the fact that Roxanne, clearly the daredevil, seduces Father Romero, a new young teacher at their parochial school.

Fast forward to the girls as adults: Roxanne is an unmarried artist of some note, Del is happily married to Jock  and stepmother to Wendy and Alice is married to Thad, a dentist on the cusp of leaving her. The past is just about to bite them all in the ass.

Here’s where I get stuck. Is this book a supernatural thriller, a revenge fantasy gone awry, a titillating sex romp? I dunno. There are elements of all these things many of the wrapped up in the character, Varick, a mysterious and dangerous man who visits the lives of all the women.

The book clicks along at a reasonable pace and the characters are interesting, but the elements of supernatural means they have no free will and so, ultimately, they’re just fish on a hook.

See, I really don’t know what to say about this book. ::sigh::