Book review - The Lot Attendant, by Jason Cornelius

What killed Jordie? Was it suicide by police, as might be the legal finding if the matter were examined by a coroner? Was it 'collateral damage', an execution performed in a desperate emergency to prevent the loss of more innocent lives? Or did he, in fact, succumb to a deadly illness left untreated?

In this darkly gripping examination of the anatomy of a sick man's progress towards his eventual death, we see laid bare the anatomy of the progress of a terrible sickness of the mind, named in the final pages as 'acute generalised anxiety disorder'. Even today, anxiety and depression disorders are often dismissed as trivial, and Cornelius shows us in stark detail the worst case results of this terrible illness. Not only terminal, but deadly to so many others. It is an indictment of the American health system, which denies necessary and life-saving care to the poor.

Aside from this, however, it's just a very, very fine piece of work. The writing is beautifully tight, and Cornelius has had the good judgement to use as his setting and cast situations and types with which he is clearly familiar. The work is disciplined and focussed, and one can hardly believe it is the author's first novel.

The Lot Attendant is available from AMAZON in both ebook and paperback formats.