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Book Review: Smoke by Catherine McKenzie

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
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View on Amazon.co.uk
 Who started the fire that threatens to set the town ablaze? Fire Investigator Elizabeth needs to answer.

Could Angus, my secretive son, have been involved with starting the fire? Mum Mindy asks herself.

In Smoke by Catherine McKenzie, former best friends Elizabeth and Mindy have these two questions in their mind.

But Smoke is so much more than just a whodunnit story. Both Elizabeth and Mindy are complex characters with complex lives.

For Elizabeth it’s about her desperation to have a child, the potential ending of her marriage and about her finally looking her problems and fears in the eye and navigating them the best that she can.

For Mindy it’s about wanting to do more than just be a wife and mother. It’s about her wanting to make a difference and find herself. That is until her son is in the frame for the fire.

The story is set over 6 days. Each chapter is set from the first person perspective of one of the two main characters. The description, dialogue and pacing are all excellent. McKenzie uses plenty of hooks that ignite the readers curiosity and drive the reader to read on. The character development is good on the whole, but the plot lacked realness towards the end.

The reader will have lots of opinion-flipping about characters, whodunnit and the plot overall. The reader will enjoy both characters unique and engaging voices, which is a huge credit to McKenzie.

Smoke is a pleasurable read and is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 1 October 2017

Book Review: Forever is the Worst Long Time by Camille Pagan

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Reviews2 Comments
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View on Amazon.co.uk
 Forever is the Worst Long Time by Camille Pagan is one man’s story of his life, his love and his loss.

James’ life is pretty ordinary until he meets Rob’s (his best friend) girlfriend Lou. James and Lou have an instant attraction.

The more James learns about Lou, the more fascinated he becomes and the more her wants to know. To James everything about Lou is perfect (even her imperfections) and he comes to love her.

Then James and Lou do the unthinkable and they set out on journey that is filled with love and loss.

The story is told from James’ perspective, his voice engaging and likeable, but is a little longwinded at times.

This first person perspective is good for the story, which is essentially about the ups and downs of his life set over seventeen years.

Use of this perspective made James’ voice, actions and motivations come across clearly. But for the same reason, left the reader feeling that other characters were lacking at times. Pagan could have improved the novel by switching to some of the other character’s perspectives.

The plot moved along at a reasonable pace. But because it was about James’ ordinary life, that mostly lacked anything extraordinary, it felt like not a lot happened. It also felt like reading a biography of someone who is a complete stranger and has done nothing to attract the reader’s interest.

The last few chapters are likely to elicit an emotional response from readers, which is a credit to Pagan’s writing.

The description and dialogue were excellent throughout. The idea was all right, but more thought and imagination could have been inputted into the story. I really wanted to like Forever is the Worst Long Time, but it just wasn’t for me. Perhaps because it was a story told by a mediocre main character.

Forever is the Worst Long Time is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Wednesday 16 August 2017
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