Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Thriller
Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords
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Author:
Peter grew
up and lives in Scotland. He’s a musician, conservationist and author of three
novels.
You can
learn more about Peter on his website.
Description:
Steve Welch
has had enough. The inconsiderate behavior of the people around him has finally
got to him and he, along with his best friend Garry, decides to teach some of
them a lesson. However, there’s also a vigilante on the loose, targeting the
same people Steve does, but with much bigger consequences. When Steve realises
that he could be held responsible for torture and even murder he knows he must
find the killer quickly.
Appraisal:
Inside Stark Contrasts is a better book waiting
to get out. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good story, but for several
(correctable, I believe) issues it doesn’t rate as highly as it should. On the
plus side it kept me intrigued and interested, it was a real page turner. The
characters were quite strong and the dialogue decent.
Onto the
elements that need fixing. The biggest of the issues is ‘show’ vs. ‘tell’.
Unfortunately, I feel Stark Contrasts doesn’t
reveal enough clues, of which there are multiple examples. The opening chapter
is meant to explain Welch’s motivation but I felt some of the subsequent inconsiderate
behaviours were just too weak to drive him to action. I later learnt that
Steve’s job is key in this thought process, however, this is not revealed until
about halfway through. It’s a shame as it’s a very good twist and should have
been brought out sooner. The same can be said of Steve’s best friend Garry,
he’s a shade initially but has a fairly major part to play later. Even Steve
and Garry’s surname’s aren’t given until the majority of the way in.
The
killer’s motivation also isn’t clear until the very end, okay there’s a desire
to create mystery, but when the person is unmasked the question remains
partially as to why? In addition this person has to have a couple of skills
which are barely touched upon in the set up and isn’t enough of a clue. Finally,
two married characters have different surnames, why? It’s not explained. Okay it
happens in life but it’s an anomaly for me because so much of the mystery rests
on this aspect.
Steve is
also involved in an extra-curricular activity, again a key motivation for the
killer and a great opportunity for (early) tension. But it’s not revealed until
something like 80% in and, as far as I can remember, not hinted at in the
slightest in the run up.
There was a
bit of an issue with sense of place, I wasn’t quite sure where the action was
occurring. Sometimes Stark Contrasts has
an American rather than London feel - one character was described as a mob
boss, another an ex-NBA player. I don’t mind where it is, just be consistent.
Finally
were the many format / layout and punctuation errors. Indents disappeared for
whole chapters then reappeared and the paragraph spacing was inconsistent. I
put up with these and the punctuation issues because of the story, but this is
basic stuff that shouldn’t be present. The overall impression is of something
rushed out, which is a pity.
In
conclusion, with some editing Stark
Contrasts would be a very good book and I’d certainly look at Carroll’s
others.
FYI:
Some adult
language.
Format/Typo Issues:
Multiple
format / layout and punctuation issues.
Rating: *** Three Stars
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