Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words
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Author:
John Barlow
was born in the UK but now lives in Galicia. He left school to become a
musician, then studied English Literature at Cambridge University, followed by
a PhD at Hull.
John, as
well as writing novels under his own name, is a ghost writer, journalist and
translator. He has written a number of novels and novellas. You can learn more
about John on his website.
Description:
Roberto
Swales is found murdered, tortured then beaten to death, a champagne cork
deliberately left at the scene. John Ray, son of local crime boss Tony Ray, is
asked to investigate the crime. However, he’s not the only one that wants to
know who killed Swales. And why.
Appraisal:
This is a
solid, well written story which I enjoyed reading. Even though it is the second
in a series (the LS9 series about the Ray family) it works well as a
stand-alone and it did not matter reading out of order.
The
characters are strong and well-drawn. John Ray, the protagonist, describes himself
as the white sheep of the family. Cambridge University educated, the last thing
he wants to do is join the family business on the wrong side of the law. In
fact he’s spent the last couple of years legitimising it, but he can’t help but
be drawn back in. There’s Den, his ex-girlfriend detective sergeant who can’t
seem to keep away from John despite the risks to her career. Flame-haired
Jeanette, the strong willed investigative reporter who’s looking into the
terrorist attack, and Baron, the obsessive police inspector investigating the
murders, among others.
There’s
more than a tinge of melancholy colouring the tale. John’s father is ageing, in
a home, and he barely communicates. The world has moved on, others have taken
over his empire. John himself struggles with his association with the criminal
world. And a terror attack which happened years ago, in which a fourteen day
old baby was killed, that the story and characters revolve around.
Through the
first half of Father and Son, the
author builds a series of story arcs, starting with Roberto’s gruesome murder.
John stumbles through, trying to find out who killed his old friend, but
finding himself more and more implicated. There’s history between him and Baron
too, which doesn’t help his cause. In the latter section the author closes the
arcs down one by one and pulls a decent surprise out. The conclusion is
fitting.
One point
of interest about the style of writing, the narrative occurs in third person,
present tense which is unusual. Present tense can be employed to create urgency
and speed in the narrative. But in this instance when shifts into past tense
occurred during periods of reflection or flashbacks the result was slightly
jarring. Did it undermine the book? Maybe a little.
Here’s an
example:
But he wishes he wasn’t here.
Roberto wouldn’t have wanted this. John realizes that now. Rob would have
wanted a booze-up down at the Park Lane, reminiscing about the old days,
cigars, bottles of brandy, laughs all round. He’d have wanted to play the part
even in death. Because that’s how he died, trapped in a life he couldn’t
escape, playing a part he didn’t want.
Nothing
technically wrong with the sentence and it’s good writing but perhaps overall I
sometimes spent time dealing with the flips in tense rather than concentrating
on the story.
However,
that was a minor aspect. Father and Son
was compelling, I found myself keen to plough through the story and reach the
conclusion. I’d certainly read John Barlow’s work again.
FYI:
Some adult
scenes.
Format/Typo Issues:
A couple of
minor technical faults.
Rating: **** Four Stars
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