The Company of Fellows / Dan Holloway

Reviewed by: Jess

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Approximate word count: 100-105,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: YES Paper: NO
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Author:

Dan Holloway is an award winning spoken word performer. Aside from his passion for live shows he has written 3 books besides The Company of Fellows (which won Blackwell's online poll for Favorite Oxford Novel). They are Songs From the Other Side of the Wall, (life:) Razorblades Included and The Man Who Painted Agnieszka's Shoes. If you'd like to learn more about Dan, visit his website.

Description:

After his breakdown 12 years ago, Tommy West left academia behind and escaped to a new life as a successful interior designer. To his surprise, he is delivered news that Charles Shaw, his mentor from that previous life, is dead. Determined to help Shaw's daughter Becky discover the truth, Tommy finds himself struggling with the ups and downs of his psychosis, as his brilliance is challenged yet again by those he once admired, and by their questionable ethics which he uncovers along the way.

Appraisal:

This book was intriguing. The writing style and detail in it were exquisite. Dan perfectly captured the small nuances in body language and personal preference that make all humans unique. This aspect of his writing style was strictly preserved throughout the story, helping to maintain the integrity of the characters. The female leads were strong and alluring, but reading between the lines I sensed they had secrets, and was curious what they were. The characters faced several ethical conundrums which I found myself pondering throughout my workday and the ending had some unexpected twists.

There were a couple of themes that made me put the Kindle down and stop reading for a few days. One in particular was horrifically offensive for my taste. It took me a long time to shake it enough to continue reading. For this reason, I will not recommend this book to my girlfriends. If you enjoy psycho thrillers, find that excellent writing compels you as much as the plot of the book, and can accept the potentially offensive themes for their intended shock value, then you should give it a try.

Format/Typo Issues:

There were a substantial number of typos. The Kindle version needed another round of proofing. Although I didn’t decrease the rating for this, those who are sensitive to these issues should take this into account.

Rating: **** Four stars