Death in the Freezer by Tim Vicary – Review

Book Title : Death in the Freezer

Author : Tim Vicary
Genre : Crime & Mystery
Place of Publication : Oxford
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Date of Publication / Edition : 2008
Number of Pages : 40

“Jealous, a sensitive feeling that can lead to the death of someone”

Death in the Freezer is a fiction novel written by an experienced English teacher and writer,
Tim Vicary. He is famous for his novels: ‘The Blood Upon the Rose’ and ‘Cat and Mouse’.
Death in the Freezer was originally released in 1997. This novel is an award-winning collection
of adapted classic literature and original stories develops reading skills for low-beginning
through advanced students. It contains a lot of plot twists that can blow your mind off right
away. Personally, what makes me interested in reading this novel is the very first sentence of
the first page of the novel. It says, “I killed a dead man. That’s why I’m in prison.” We now
know that the main character has been imprisoned, but the real question is why did he kill a
man that is already dead? That makes us feel curious.
The story is about a girl named Ellen Shore, who is not happy with his new born brother,
Al, because her parents think that a son is more important than a daughter. Nobody is interested
in her anymore, so Ellen begins to hate her baby brother. When she is adult, she goes on hating
him. She has three very young kids, no husband, and very little money, but Al is crazy rich.
Ellen is always there for him, even steal something precious just for him. But in return, Al
gives her nothing. So, Ellen decided to make secret plans for her brother, but Al has some
ridiculously strange friends, who also have plans for him.
What makes this novel good is that the words used by the author are easy to read by people
between all ages. This novel is also more into the real points of the storyline, making every
single chapter important to be read. What makes it even more interesting is that you can’t really
tell which character is the protagonist, because basically all of the characters in this novel has
their own pros and cons. This novel also feels so realistic and serious, considering that such
things that happened inside the story can possibly happen in real life too. On the other hands,
what makes this novel bad is the length of the story. It is too short, even for a mini novel.
Consider that the genre is ‘Crime and Mystery’, the author should have written a longer, intense
storyline. Because mystery doesn’t end that fast and easily.
 Overall, I’ll give this novel a 7 out of 10 ratings. Personally, I suggest this novel to all the
people out there who likes detective thingy, or hard-core mysteries, etc. I think this novel suits
teenage readers very well, considering there are science technologies mentioned in the story.

Kevin Leonius – 11A