Mr Toppit by Charles Elton

And out of the Darkwood Mr Toppit comes, and he comes not for you, or for me, but for all of us. When The Hayseed Chronicles , an obscure series of children's books, become world-famous, millions of readers debate the significance of that enigmatic last line and the shadowy figure of Mr Toppit who dominates the books. The author, Arthur Hayman, an unsuccessful screenwriter mown down by a concrete truck in Soho, never reaps the benefits of the books' success. The legacy passes to his widow, Martha, and her children - the fragile Rachel, and Luke, reluctantly immortalised as Luke Hayseed, the central character of his father's books. But others want their share, particularly Laurie, the overweight stranger from California, who comforts Arthur as he lies dying, and has a mysterious agenda of her own that changes all their lives.For buried deep in the books lie secrets which threaten to be revealed as the family begins to crumble under the heavy burden of their inheritance. Spanning several decades, from the heyday of the British film industry after the war to the cut-throat world of show business in Los Angeles, Mr Toppit is a riveting tale of the unexpected effects of sudden fame and fortune.

I really liked this book. I can't really say why tho. I don't think I completely "got it" either. I just liked the style and the way it was written. There were all these additional layers that I think just passed me by as I was waiting for some big boot to drop at the end or a twist or a something. There isn't one. It's just a story about lives. About bizarre lives, but just about lives, none the less. I liked it :) Ps. It's another book I got for book club based on the BBC 5Live's Book Reviews with Simon Mayo review.