It is evening on Chelsea Bridge. Everything seems normal. A commuter train pulls in to Victoria Station. The eyes of the passengers in two carriages are drawn to a row of people standing by the barrier at the side of the bridge. Screams ring out as simultaneously, they all jump over, and it is realised they all have nooses round their necks.
This is the opening, described collectively, by The People of Choice, as they become known throughout the world. Who and what are they? Why do they all want to kill themselves? And who has commanded them to do so?
Will Carver delves into the lives of the London suicides – the nobodies, as he calls them. And you can't help agreeing that they are nobodies, as you learn more about their empty lives. It is thought by the public that they are a cult, so Carver examines some of the famous death cults of the past, and some of the serial murderers.
They have all received a letter, which begins “Nothing important happened today”. It goes on to give precise instructions for the communal act of suicide, and it is only at the last moment, when it is too late, that they think that perhaps they don't want to die after all. You wait throughout the story for someone who decides they don't want to die before it is too late but they all regard the suicide as an achievement. The people of choice follow a variety of occupations, from out-of-work idlers to doctors and ex-bankers, dirt-poor to wealthy.
It is in many ways a frightening and depressing book. But I certainly couldn't put it down, and read it in one sitting.
