Blurb:
In Victorian England a witch and a detective are on the hunt for a serial killer in an enthralling novel of magic and murder by the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of The Vine Witch.
After a nearly fatal blow to the skull, traumatized private detective Ian Cameron is found dazed and confused on a muddy riverbank in Victorian London. Among his effects: a bloodstained business card bearing the name of a master wizard and a curious pocket watch that doesn’t seem to tell time. To retrieve his lost memories, Ian demands answers from Edwina and Mary Blackwood, sister witches with a murky past. But as their secret is slowly unveiled, a dangerous mystery emerges on the darkened streets of London.
To help piece together Ian’s lost time, he and Edwina embark on a journey that will take them from the river foreshore to an East End music hall, and on to a safe house for witches in need of sanctuary from angry mortals. The clues they find suggest a link between a series of gruesome murders, a missing person’s case, and a dreadful suspicion that threatens to tear apart the bonds of sisterhood. As the investigation deepens, could Ian and Edwina be the next to die?
Strengths and Weaknesses:
I have to be honest here but this book started off very promising and I have to be honest when I got this as Amazon first reads for January and I saw the length of the page, something like 235 pages and with the setup the first 30 or 40 pages I was sat there thinking hmm.. This is fairly good setup building and this book could heading somewhere and..
Well it didn’t, quickly the book seemed to run out of steam rapidly and the last two hundred pages took me something like 3 or so weeks to read. Yeah, it proved a struggle.
For me, this is down to the movement in the book. I don’t mind of course the action, but the movement within the plot just didn’t seen to move and there was way too much dialogue which was frankly dull and I really struggled working out who said what after a while, and if it hadn’t being for the length I very likely would have abandoned this book after 70 or 80 pages.
As pointed out by another reader on Good Reads, there was also a insistence on calling Sir Henry Elvanfoot “Sir Elvanfoot” which is bad research or bad editing you decide and I’ll keep off the bad referencing to London in the book too.
I did like the fact that was the two main characters female, but they were sadly not served well by the plot atall sadly.
4/10
(John Constantine, Hellblazer Art by John Paul Leon)
I was going to talk originally about schizophrenia next for Part 3 of the story behind my forthcoming novel, but before I come onto that I want to talk about another major influence on my Author series.
In my previous posts, I talked about Marvel’s Moon Knight and how mental health affected my earlier attempts at the stories which resulted in me killing off the character when I was 16 which then resulted in a suicide attempt myself then again at 18 (which I will talk about in future parts) mirroring my character.
Into my early 20s, after some years away from American comics, I got into Vertigo comics, the then adult wing of DC Comics when I discovered some graphic novel reprints of Alan Moore’s classic run of Swamp Thing.
While this run is an incredible run of Gothic horror and well worth your time reading alone, what really grabbed was the first appearance of John Constantine, a man of mystery (Perhaps best summed up Winston Churchill who described Russia as ‘a riddle wrapped in a engima’)
“John Constantine is a working-class warlock, occult detective, and con man from Liverpool who is stationed in London (also UK)” He is described in Wiki who is known “for his endless cynicism, deadpan snarking, ruthless cunning ruthless cunning, and constant chain smoking, but he is also a passionate humanitarian driven by a heartfelt desire to do some good in his life”
In Swamp Thing, he sparkles across the pages he is with his one liners and his desperation when his helpers / friends in the stories start vanishing and getting killed one after the other.
Somewhere a little after this experience, I was hooked on Hellblazer the solo series featuring John Constantine who span out from this work, firstly with the neo political work of the incredible Jamie Delano, then the North Irish writer Garth Ennis who took it further stating in an interview the source of which I forget “all the girls fancy him and all the guys want to be him’ even if he is the kind of guy you want him to have a beer with, perhaps it would be better to run away afterwards.
Why I adapted some of the snarkiness of Constantine into the Author I can’t remember in hindsight whether it was to give it a bit of a bite or a edge like I said, it was just reflected almost naturally in the story mixing the street working magician with massive mental health needs and at 22 or 23, I wrote a 20,000 word short novella called ‘The Return of the Author’ which was a return to the series after killing the character off when I was 16.
It wasn’t great I have to be honest, but it was a start and set things off in the right direction for what came next.
(Will be on the February version of the book review Podcast 'Reading in Bed' in a audio, slightly different version)
Blurb:
One boy, one boat, one tiger . . .
After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years.
Strengths:
I haven’t seen the film before you ask, I got this book as there is a quote on the front of the book which states ‘Martel writes like a more compassionate Paul Auster’ and I can see why the comparisons with Auster is here in particular with his wonderful short novel Timuktu.
This book is a strange book, one of the strangest I’ve read in a long time as it builds up a very, very slow pace indeed which is kinda surprising with 100 odd chapters spread out close to a 400 page book with some of the earlier chapters not even being a page.
I also liked the fact that you didn’t seen Pi on the boat with the tiger and the other animals to a lot later than what I was expecting (will be interesting to see at some point how this happens in the film).
Pi as a main character who thinks about things in a somewhat interesting point of view shall we say, which according to a fellow Good Reads reader said “Is it a "story that will make you believe in God," as Pi claims? I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I would recommend it to people who enjoy thinking about the nature of reality and the role of faith in our lives. “
The journey of this book is deeper than that I think as it feels like the writer is testing the writer almost throughout to see if they can go through the full of the book as it starts off a text book of philosophy which I really wasn’t expecting and it took ages to get into this book as it was definitely a bit too preachey for my liking with segments on zoology and theology which isn’t for everybody.
The second segment which I know a few people skipped to was more interesting and then of course the boat journey when they reach a island.
How does he control a wild tiger in his boat during this? It’s completely un-believeable of course but I think that is part of the charm of the book on-top of all of the essays at the start of the book… Its a classic because its told not in a A to Z form but rather to A to AA and eventually Z to ZZ. It requires patience and a lot off it.
Weaknesses
The two scenarios at the end of the book is very off-putting almost like the writer is trying to encourage you to stick with which one you want. It works in Paul Auster’s powerful 4-3-2-1 as you end up with 4 different lives with 4 different endings which felt better worked, but it was at least interesting if not anything else.
(Spoiler – the endings being in Pi’s viewpoints, either we are to believe the tiger adventure happened or it was the alternate version: cannibalism and watching his family die in the boat.)
Regarding the patience as I said before, because of the pacing of the book this is a book that is not for everybody and I have to admit, it took me three attempts as although I loved it, the structure made it hard to follow unless you are in that right frame of mind. It’s not an easy to read book that’s for sure.
Conclusion:
It’s not a book for everybody certainly. I enjoyed it, but its a book which took a few months to read I have to admit.
8/10
Readers for Speak Easy (Our Open Mic Spoken Word Night at Dulicmer, Chorlton on Thursday 03 Feb 22 starting at 7.30pm) have now being announced.
Hosted by Steve Smythe and Mike Booth,
confirmed readers are:
Andy N
Amanda Nicholson (Steel)
Regi Agulha Jr.
Mike Booth
Steve Mingle
Esther Koch
Quigley CB
David Bond
Chris Moore
Dan
Ben Willkommens
Sean McGlynnn
Steve Titley
Gordon Zola
Eve Nortley
Jay Mitra
Michael John Holme
Alex Johnson
Zahrah
Darren Lea-grime
Amy Langley
Isabelle Pandora Byrne
Lauren Johnstone
April Manderson
Hannah McGuinn
Rebecca Kenny
*
All slots have gone. If you wish to go on the subs list, please let me know by email at aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk
Please we are in the process of setting up a Instagram page and also a mailing list. Speak to Andy on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk over these.
Blurb:
Bestselling
crime noir masters Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips bring us a new
original graphic novel starring troublemaker-for-hire Ethan
Reckless.
It's
1988 and Ethan has been hired for his strangest case yet: finding the
secrets of a Los Angeles real estate mogul. How hard could that be,
right? Only what starts as a deep dive into the life of a stranger
will soon take a deadly turn, and find Ethan risking everything that
still matters to him.
Strengths:
This book originally came out in October 2021 which is their third in this series in just under a year which considering each of these are around 140 pages is pretty good going.
Moving forward in time, this story takes place in 1988, and it focuses on a slightly more aging Ethan Reckless who was heading towards 40 and his much younger assistant Anna in the middle of a new case.
The tension in this story is set up straight away and its a change in gears from the first two books which were more action packed with setting up on Ethan Reckless in a more voilent action hero version of the Rockford Files I guess into looking at the relationship between these two friends.
The case revolves around the pair of them getting drawn back together on a case for a councilman who wants Ethan to destroy the life of Gerald Runyan, a businessman who betrayed his father and destroyed his dream. Ethan asks for Anna's help in the case and that helps the two get a bit closer for some time and after the action in the final third,
Re-reading this comic after is a clear design to take the story forward and in a great way brings a new depth in their friendship and is a clear design that the book is now moving away from the nihlistic, noir like nature of the first few books into something new – something by the tease at the end of it something which isn’t going to be much lighter that was for sure.
Weaknessess:
I’ve seen a few reviews grumbling – this is a little middling because of the lack of action in this book and therefore if you are looking for a more action paced graphic novel, this certainly isn’t it and I suspect it could be a bit of a audience splitter because of the tone in the book and the hint at the end I think towards a certain character’s final fate may annoy a few people also.
Conclusion:
I however thought it was probably the strongest book so far because it took a stepbackwards and therefore it gets a 9 out of 10 for me.
Excellent.
Somebody asked me (I won’t name who) after my last post about my forthcoming novel, did my idea for my debut novel come before I started writing poetry when I was 10. My poetry it has to be said pre-dated this character by likely two or three years – I have honestly forgotten over the years but the design of the character certainly came from Marvel comic’s ‘Moon Knight’ which I picked up I guess a few years before.
If my memory is correct, my Dad took me in John Menzies in Stretford Mall (Now the much less nicer W H Smiths) after having a painful filling to go and get me a comic as a treat for being a brave little boy expecting me to buy Spiderman or the Fantastic Four which most of the kids in my class only for me to come back with a white cloaked Batman like character.
Moon Knight if you research wikipedia is described as “Moon Knight (Marc Spector) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975).
The son of a rabbi, Marc Spector is a former Marine and CIA operative who becomes a mercenary, despite his conflicted feelings about violence and morality. During a job in the Sudan, he is appalled by ruthless fellow mercenary Raoul Bushman. Bushman then attacks and kills archeologist Dr. Alraune. Spector saves the archeologist's daughter and colleague Marlene Alraune, then fights and is defeated by Bushman. The dying Spector is brought into a recently unearthed tomb for shelter and placed before a statue of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Spector seems to die but then suddenly revives, fully healed. He claims Khonshu wants him to be the "moon's knight", redeeming his life of violence by now protecting and avenging the innocent. It is later revealed Khonshu is real, one of several entities from the Othervoid (a dimension outside normal time and space) who were worshipped as gods by ancient Earth people. On his return to the United States, Spector invests his mercenary profits into becoming the crimefighter "Moon Knight", aided by his colleague Jean-Paul "Frenchie" DuChamp and Marlene Alraune, who becomes his lover and eventual mother of his daughter. Along with his costumed alter ego, he uses four other identities to gain information from different social circles: billionaire businessman Steven Grant, taxicab driver Jake Lockley, red-haired little girl Inner Child, and suited consultant Mr. Knight. It is later revealed Marc Spector has dissociative identity disorder (incorrectly referred to as schizophrenia in some stories) and that the alters known as Grant and Lockley originally manifested during his childhood, subsequent identities emerging during his adulthood. It is debated in different stories whether Spector's mental disorder is due to childhood trauma or the result of "brain damage" caused by his psychic connection to Khonshu, a connection compelling Moon Knight's personality to shift between the four major aspects of the moon god's multi-faceted nature ("the traveler", "the pathfinder", "the embracer", and "the defender of those who travel at night"). Khonshu claims he created a psychic connection with Marc Spector when the latter was a young boy, decades before he was ready to be fully recruited as his avatar on Earth, the left Fist of Khonshu”
To this day, I can’t remember what drew me to this character, likely something to do with the fact it was something he wasn’t just one character or a man hiding behind the mask, but in this case one man who had a whole host of characters fighting for attention and I loved the anti war message that flew through it. This was a man who had done bad, and was trying to atone for it.
My early stories went at this from the fact from being a writer, and gave him literally split personalities with writing characters which came to life literally to assist them, not the battle of a man who hid behind all of these characters.
I was also mad keen on the white armour and the image of my character flying across the moon but only really found out later the reason why I really related to this character was the use of schizophrenia in the comics something that really hit home with me in my late teens.
I need to clarify next that I have never had schizophrenia in any form but I did have a lot of mental heath trouble certainly in my late teens and knew somebody at this time who also suffered schizophrenia which I’ll talk about in a future post, but Moon Knight was the Author in a very different way and who over time as I discovered when I began to write my bad, little tales in a different, different way which I’ll touch on next.
Thanks to everybody who attended Speak Easy last night in difficult times, the next night will be 03 February 2022 at Duclimer, Chorlton.
As I've stated elsewhere Amanda and me were still recovering from Covid, so respect and love to Mike Booth and Regi Agulha Jr. for stepping up to help Steve Smythe, and ensuring the night was a success still.
I'll be taking bookings as always this Sunday coming - Sunday 09 January 2022 from mid-day by email to aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk or facebook message here. Bear in mind, it does go quickly as its best to message quickly for our Feb Show on Thursday 03 Feb 22.
Steve wrote on the Speak Easy wall about last night
"A big thank you to those people who attended our first Speak Easy of 2022. It was great to see such a diverse crowd and a fantastic range of writer/performers: poems, short fiction, monologues and even a one man play with five characters! We had three people reading their words on stage for the very first time anywhere, something we are proud of and which we have encouraged since Day One in 2015. As many people turned up simply to lend their eyes and ears to the event as we had readers. Big thanks to the Dulcimer Bar in Chorlton. Photos and details of how to book a slot on February's Speak Easy on the first Thursday of the month o follow.
Last night's writers/performers were:
Mike Booth
Regi Agulha Jr.
Amy Langley
Isabelle Pandora Byrne
Darren Lea-grime
Anna Percy
Jo Somerset
David Bond
Christopher Moore
Andy Cash
Michael John Holme
Leon
April
Leo
Dan Tunstall
Sean McGlynn"
I just want to add in addition, it means a lot to me to see what Steve about people taking their very first performing steps with Speak Easy, and as long as we are involved with this night, it is something I will be encouraging also.
You can see the pictures from last night here
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=speakeasymanchester&set=a.2046971318802794
Yeah, well to be honest this shouldn’t have 40 years to write, but it has I must admit and if I am honest with myself, this should have being finished at least 15 years ago, maybe even as far as 20 years ago.
Well, 20 years ago I had finished university and was completely burn out from writing and I full well remember going back to some ultraviolent science fantasy manuscripts I had tried writing at school 20 years before and a little older and decided it was too bad to work on and abandoned it – I just wasn’t ready.
15 years ago, I had another go – I had joined a writing group by this stage, and the person who ran it who I won’t I remember suggesting to me why not have another go at it. I got as far as 5,000 words rewriting one of the manuscripts (Yes, there was a whole host of them at school) only for my PC to die halfway through and the backup disc corrupted during the archiving which I was do.
10 years ago, well just over 10 years ago I became Diabetic. I’ve covered this story before which doesn’t need repeating here but it forced a massive rethink over my writing direction as I had published a poetry book Return to Kemptown, which I enjoyed but I knew wasn’t the direction I wanted to head to. Over a good year, I tried this book again only to get to on two separate occasions around 10,000 words in hand to struggle to write much more.
5 years later, I was just starting to get warmed up with the woman who eventually became my wife, Amanda I had another go at this novel spurred by Amanda who had wrote a series of novels / novellas etc. I remember that 2 and a bit year period where I wrote 45,000 words of this book now titled ‘The Author and the terror of the hellhole’ and 30,000 words of its prequel ‘The Return of the Author’ and 4 other manuscripts a bit years later when my Father had a stroke and in the process nearly took out my mother too and caused my family untold stress and in the process without meaning forced me to put it to one sign yet again when my head simply wasn’t up to finish the job.
I’m now back on the book and will be talking about this over time again this year I hope. I’m now on the 4th draft of my book now retitled somewhere which I will reveal in due course, but the one thing I have learnt from my poetry that some pieces longer than other take time to develop. I’ve had some poems which have took years to write, but heading towards 40 years. Now that’s a different ball game but I have learnt as a poet, something some pieces took longer than others to write, and if you believe in the piece you’ll never give up.
Like me.
(The image at top of this feature is Marvel hero 'Moon Knight' a major influence on earlier attempts of the my character, the Author)
Hope everybody had a great Xmas and New Year.
Speak Easy will be back at always at Dulcimer, 567 Wilbraham Rd, Greater, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 0AE on thursday 06 January 2022 with the following readers:
All slots have gone and will be starting at 7.30pm.
If anybody wants to go on the subs list, please let Steve Smythe know who will be assisted for January by Mike and Regi. All are welcome to watch of course.
Free admission.
Confirmed readers are:
1) Anthony Briscoe
2) Antonia Fusaro
3) Regi Agulha Jr.
4) Mary Cunningham
5) Mike Booth
6) Isabelle Pandora Byrne
7) Zahrah
8) Andy Routledge
9) Sean McGlynn
10) Amy Langley
11) Anna Percy
12) Chris Moore
13) David Bond
14) Andy Cash
15) Jo Somerset
16) Roy Page
17) Jonny Lindsey
18) Poet Nabs
19) Darren Lea-grime
20) Milligan
21) Alex Johnson
22) Gordon Zola
23) Eve Nortley
24) Eleanor
25) Steve Smythe
26) Dan
First became of Matt Elliott also known as Third Eye Foundation with his sometimes brutal Drum and Bass and Guitar which I still love all the way back 1995 or when he was involved also with the Legendary Flying Saucer Attack and Movietone.
Over time, his music has often shifted gears into more reflective gears as proved by this wonderful live version of Summertime recorded in France in September 2021.
Still carrying his looping skills, this recording shows him fronting a three piece band with him playing guitar, singing and the Sax and lots of clever uses of loop pedals. This is well worth a listen and has cheered me up endlessly in isolation still.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5maDK0nRSM
Audio version of this book review will be out at the start of January 2022 on book review Podcast 'Reading in Bed'. Available on all of the usual networks including Itunes, Spotify, Youtube, Instagram, Podbean, Podbay and about twenty others.
BLURB:
A vivid trip through the mind of the top professional wrestler in the business—a nobody from nowhere who achieved his ambitions and walked away with the gold and the girl of his dreams.
Ride alongside Jon Moxley as he retraces some of the highways traveled on his remarkable journey. Revel in the never-before-told stories about his early life in Cincinnati, Ohio; the gritty independent wrestling scene where he cut his teeth; the complicated corporate landscape of the WWE where he bucked against authority; and the rebellious upstart AEW, where he won the championship in 2020 and was finally free to achieve the vision of the wrestler he’d always wanted to be.
With plenty of pitstops and revelatory insights, including grisly ultraviolent encounters, crazy characters who became lifelong friends, and his unforgettable matches in Japan, MOX is the riveting account of the life of a brawler. It is a tale written in blood and soaked in debauchery, with a good dose of wisdom accumulated along the way.
More than a backstage pass into the arena, MOX is a ticket into the ring. Once inside, you’ll never look at pro wrestling the same again.
STRENGTHS:
I know Jon Moxley as a wrestler from his time in AEW, and was somewhat unsure about this book as I thought the blurb oversold him as a wrestler somewhat there but anyway..
1) What left me amazed right from the beginning, you could read hear Moxley’s voice in this book straight from the beginning and made me feel that I was sitting by a campsite hearing him tell tale after tale in a random order. I know there was a ghostwriter involved in this book, or either that somebody who helped him but either way, this was a great example of two people really jelling to write a book.
2) The book is far from perfect, but in contrast to other wrestling books I have read is the fact he Vulnerable, Violent, Imperfect and he choose to be honest to himself and to the reader in this book, and it shows.
3) You get loads of stories from his time in the Shield in WWE and as Dean Ambrose what you would expect, but I didn’t know anywhere as much about his time before WWE which is what it feels like he is back to his heart as a person and a wrestler since WWE.
4) Anybody who is familiar with his run in WWE would know it didn’t finish off well, and I was worried if I am honest the book would be overloaded with his I hate the place etc and he doesn’t hold back with his anger with WWE and its current product, yet where respect and love is due, he is kind and thoughtful with this.
WEAKNESSES:
1) Although I enjoyed the full of the book, there is no attempt of chronology in Mox which had me dipping in and out more rather than actually reading the book in long bursts. The approach he does the book is in a stream of conscious style placing the chapters in a more or less random order which did take me out of the book in bits.
2) He is a very good storyteller and all of his stories are at worst really interesting, but it is not in the league of Bret Hart’s excellent Hitman or Mick Foleys’s have a nice day with the sheer epic storytelling or humour.
CONCLUSION:
Not convinced it is a book for a none wrestling fan in constrast to Foley or Hart’s books which have that kind of cross over appeal, but it has a edge I’ve not seen before in a book like this and it is gripping.
8/10
(An audio version of this will appear on the book review Podcast series Reading in Bed - available at all the usual places at the start of January 2022.)
BLURB:
The concluding installment of the acclaimed time-travel novel.
To read the first installment, search for 'The '86 Fix' on Amazon.
After his miraculous weekend in 1986, Craig Pelling returned to a future he could never have envisaged. Even by his own hapless standards, his plans have spectacularly backfired. Everything he tried to fix is now broken, and a bleak, lonely existence is all Craig has to look forward to. Does he face that future, or does he try to seek answers? Either way, an emotional rollercoaster ride beckons. Can Craig can find closure before it ends? Or does fate have a few more twists in store for him, beyond Broadhall?
STRENGTHS:
This is the sequel to the 86 Fix also by the same author, and as has stated previously, you simply have to read the first part in the series to really get the feel for the series.
Like with the first series, I did find this a easy to read series which I generally did enjoy.
About this book, it follows on from the 86 Fix as a middle aged man called Craig Pelling wakes back up in 2016 after attempting to change the past of 1986 only to realise when he wakes back up only to discover literally he has somewhat dropped himself straight proving the saying the grass isn’t always greener on the other side in the process messing up the lives of quite a few people, not all of which live to tell the tale.
I did enjoy his battles with the Job Centre when he wakes up in this alternative world, and the introductions of a few new characters who I won’t name and his now girlfriend, all of which really added something to the narrative.
The use of the father was my fav add to the book as in the first book he was very unsympathic – a nice touch there.
WEAKNESSES:
Personally when Craig went back to 1986 again and then the modern day world, it was all a bit rushed if I am honest, perhaps some of the sections in the alternative world seemed a bit too drawn out etc.
Also there was evidence of the book not being proof read proper
"It would be amiss of me" – "remiss" somebody else on Good Reads said.
Somebody also said “There’s also a scattering of bear/bare errors. It is also annoying that no one drinks/downs/gulps/anything—they “neck” it. They always “neck” it. “
CONCLUSION:
Not a perfect book and I don’t think was anywhere as near as good as the 1st book but it had heart, and while I saw the twists coming up, it was a easy read and fun.
8/10
The audio review version of this book will be out on the book review Podcast 'Reading in Bed' (Available from all the usual places at the start of January 2022)
Blurb:
Seven
friends. One killer. You can run, but you can’t hide…
The
winter hike is meant to bring their nature group together.
Emily,
the sister who never lets her hearing loss hold her back.
Lauren,
the sister who always feels a step behind.
Morna,
who doesn’t get on with Lauren.
Ben,
whose feelings for Emily border on obsession.
Dan,
the quiet newcomer to the group.
Kai,
who isn’t just on the hike to enjoy the wildlife.
And
Alec, the one who knows all their secrets.
As
the sun sets, a gunshot rings out on the nature reserve.
One
of the seven is dead. And one of their number killed them…
Strengths:
First of all, great to see the use of a deaf character in this book. I read somewhere else that the writer does this in all of their books and here it works well as Emily, the character you learn a lot about her character without it dragging out too much.
Second, I go on about this all the time with books but settings are key and in this book, the Author really gets this spot on as the mood with the location adds marks to the book.
Thirdly, there is a flaw for me with the characters but the set up is spot on as unlike another book I did for Reading in Bed recently, this book sets out the characters fairly quickly, and you are certainly left wondering after the first character dies, is that it? Will the killer strike again? And the pacing certainly picks up as the book carries on.
*
Weaknesses:
Well, to be honest I only really liked Emily among the characters. Some of the others I won’t name were two one D and despite what the book blurb says they are certainly not friends, with all having issues or lingering hatred towards at least one other member in the group.
Secondly, information dumping. There was a lot of hints in the first third or so, and at this point I think the writer wrote them into a bit of a corner here after one of the characters died (I won’t name) part from all the running around in the dark and snow with people suspecting first one person then another. I found it all quite silly and unrealistic in particular when the information dumping started coming in from a number of the characters. As a poet, I am always a believer in show not tell and this does not work for me taking a lot of the built up tension from the earlier part of the book.
Thirdly, somebody else on Good Reads raised the point that it felt like the characters were running in circles after the first killing which I think they certainly did which was hidden to a degree by the constant Point of Views changing, but if you look carefully I am of the point of view here that there is not a lot there really.
Fourth, the mention on the book in the blurb they were friends is no where near the truth if you look at it and is very naughty as they are far from friends and after the book, it is clear that most of them are not friends and will not be friends or anything else. Poorly done by whoever did the blurb there.
Fifth, the last chapter – to be honest, this really did not work and was creepy for the sake of being creepy. The two characters had tension, but this seemed a step too far for me personally and completely took me out of the narrative and the mixed work it had produced by that point.
Conclusion:
This was one of the books which should have being a lot better than it was, and although it has its good points, the negatives over load this completely. A shame
4/10
