Every once in a while, I come across a book that doesn’t just keep me guessing but makes me wonder what the hell is going on – not figuring it all out until the closing pages.
This is one of those books.
Full disclosure, I had a hard time getting through the beginning because after a bang-up opener (almost literally), the author immediately switches gears to introducing multiple characters.
The chapters themselves were not confusing as the perspective jumped between them. But it all seemed disjointed, and I kept wondering what they had to do with each other and how it all tied to the opening chapter.
I’m glad I stuck with it though, because at about 40% I started to see the connections. At that point, I realized how clever the author had been at the beginning, slowly revealing bits and pieces that seemed innocuous but were actually quite telling.
Well done on that.
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2PgQLi8
At halfway through, everything started to become clear – to paraphrase one of the characters, the pieces started to fall into place.
From there to the end, it became quite a page-turner, as the motivations of certain characters became clearer, and events occurred that shined even more light on how everything was connected.
I did think that there were a few times that the author went a bit heavy on the “men are horrible” theme. I get why it was important to the plot, but a few times I felt “enough already.”
However, I also thought that the way one character manipulated others was masterful. The reader got a little bit of insight that the characters didn’t, which added to the mystery of motivation.
This quite the psych thriller with twists and connections you absolutely won’t see coming. Take everything in at the beginning and you’ll truly enjoy the latter half of the book much more.
About Chris Westlake: After completing a Creative Writing course in 2010, Chris Westlake’s short story, Welsh Lessons, was awarded 1st place in the Global Short Story Award (not bad for the first writing competition he had entered). He followed this up with 1st place in the Stringybark Erotic Fiction Award and 2nd place in the HASSRA Literary Award.
Chris has written three novels. 30 DAYS IN JUNE is his first crime thriller. He is currently writing his second thriller, on schedule to be completed in 2020. He is determined to write many, many more – his main regret is that he didn’t start writing earlier.
Chris considers himself to be a developing author. He is always looking to improve, to make his next novel even better than the last. He is continuously experimenting with different styles, different genres.
