#82. THE BODY SNATCHERS By Jack Finney

Published : 1955
Pages : 226
Overall Mark : 7/10

When Becky Driscoll turns up at Dr Miles Bennell's consulting rooms after hours one August evening and tells him that her cousin Wilma doesn't think that her Uncle Ira is really her Uncle Ira, this is just the beginning of a nightmare for the sleepy town of Mill Valley. As the number of similar stories multiplies, Mile discovers the horrific truth. Aliens are taking over the bodies and minds of his friends and neighbours... Jack Finney's chilling story is the classic novel of alien invasion.

JACK FINNEY (1911-1995)
Born in Madison, Wisconsin and brought up in Chicago, Jack Finney worked in the advertising industry before his first short story won a competition in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in 1946. He contributed stories to a number of magazines and moved to California. Apart from The Body Snatchers, which has been filmed several times as The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, he is best known for his time-slip novel, Time And Again.

VERDICT
Another novel that is probably more famous for its movie versions, this claustrophobic exploration of not being able to trust those closest to us is at times compelling and at others a little hammy and half-hearted. Though the characters may not act in a sensible way when confronted by space pods, the concept is engaging and makes for good escapist reading.