But with its deft plotting, penetrating observations and swirling, rhythmic sentences, " Birnam Wood" is a rare accomplishment: an intelligent and elegant thriller that is also a damn fine read.
When an area of rich arable land in New Zealand is suddenly abandoned after a late-summer landslide closes the nearest pass for several months, Mira senses that Birnam Wood may have found its playground.
In Ms Catton's new novel, " Birnam Wood" , the characters wear dark gloves, balaclavas and jackets zipped to the throat, listening out for a " shout of warning, or a gunshot, or the now unmistakable sound of a drone" .