Desperately dissatisfied with his comfortable, middle-class life, and meandering through his days, Keir Buchan feels like he is just going through the motions of living. A writer of detective novels, he has just been made redundant from the University where he worked. His wife and teenage children seem disconnected to him. He has lost all of his joy in living…
“…because hope is for what – a not too unpleasant death?”
We follow Keir through a profound mid-life crisis. The fallout of his personal crisis affects many others along the way. Some to an intense and explosive degree.
If you are wondering why I included bubbles in my lead graphic, it is because much of the novel seems to hold Keir and Cassie in a bubble of happiness. We all know that bubbles drift for a few minutes – and then break. I was constantly waiting for their bubble to burst. And burst it did in an extraordinary and staggering way, showing just how fragile happiness is and how we humans are always precariously striving for it.
The writing was polished and skillful, not just for the first novel it is, but for any novel. It included vividly rendered descriptions of the many locales in which the book was set.
Although the characterization was well wrought, I found myself ambivalent toward Keir. I felt no sympathy or empathy for his character’s situation. Just past his fiftieth birthday, he seemed to be shiftless, selfish, egocentric, and adrift… In this instance, my feelings for Keir’s character was integral to my enjoyment of the book – especially since the book was written in the first person, from Keir’s point of view.
That being said, the author does seem to have an innate understanding of the suicidal mind and the depression that precedes it.
The title “The Perfect Sentence” couldn’t possibly more suited to this novel. It is in fact a ‘perfect‘ title for the book. Keep in mind that Keir is a writer and writers are always grasping for that ‘perfect sentence’ – also, a sentence can mean a punishment…
At the risk of sounding sexist, I think male readers might enjoy this book more than female readers. I do not for a minute regret reading Keir’s story, but it wasn’t entirely to my taste. Many other readers and literary critics disagree with me as the book was nominated for the Whitbread First Novel Prize. If you’re looking for a novel that is well written and features a solely male point of view, then this could be a favourite book for you!
My gratitude to David from Thistle Publishing who provided me with a digital copy of this novel for review purposes.
Born in Montreal, Patrick Starnes studied Philosophy and English Literature in Canada and wrote his masters thesis on the novels of Samuel Beckett at Cambridge. He has traveled widely and at one time or another has lived in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Greece, Spain, and England. He has worked variously as an aid administrator, journalist, freelance researcher, and college lecturer.
He is currently living in Italy with his wife Christine and dogs Mac and Mia.
“A Perfect Sentence” is his first novel and it was nominated for the Whitbread First Novel prize.
D.I. Kim Stone – An acerbic, brusque, and driven young woman who works as a Detective Inspector for the West Midlands Police, the second largest police force in the country. She is socially inept, and has been known to break the rules, as well as to disregard instructions and protocols in her search for justice. An insomniac, she is fueled by nervous energy and lots of coffee, and is beautiful, but she works hard to hide it. She is 34 years old, brilliant, hot-headed, and damaged. As a child, she suffered horribly, and was shunted from foster home to foster home. Only once did she experience a nurturing, loving relationship – and that was very short lived…. Now, when not working, her favourite thing to do is work at restoring vintage motorbikes. Bikes are her passion, and she uses a Kawasaki Ninja as her regular form of transport.
Other than her second in command, Bryant, she is friendless. Her one real weakness is her fondness for her adopted dog, Barney.
Police team
In DI Kim Stone’s eighth outing we find her team working on a case centered around a prestigious, elite, boarding school called Heathcrest. After a thirteen year old girl is found dead at the school, Kim’s investigations reveal that this was a murder – masked as a suicide. Then the team uncovers several other deaths and tragic ‘accidents’. All of them, conceivably related to the school’s exclusive and toxic social clubs called the ‘playing cards’. Kevin Dawson uncovers their dangerous/deadly hazing rituals and initiation tasks and wonders how they relate to more current deaths surrounding students and staff of Heathcrest.
This eighth novel in the series has proved to be a worthy successor to the first seven – in fact, I think it is my most favourite yet! The series just seems to go from strength to strength. This is a novel of secrets, lies, and the privileged – showing once again that wealth and social status holds its own perils.
“Dying Truth” shows how important to the human psyche is the sense of belonging. It portrays some grisly deaths and as usual, the subject matter is gritty and might not be to everyone’s taste. The ending of this particular book was heartbreaking – but I won’t say why as it would ruin the reading experience for those following this series.
I’ve been trying to curtail my greed when it comes to requesting digital ARCs. I have SO many review commitments that I fear I’m not doing them justice by posting my reviews way after the publication date.
Penny Feeny has lived and worked in Cambridge, London and Rome. Since settling in Liverpool many years ago she has been an arts administrator, editor, radio presenter, advice worker, and has brought up five children. Her short fiction has been widely published and broadcast and won several awards. Her first novel, That Summer in Ischia, was one of the summer of 2011’s best selling titles.
Not long after they move in, Jocelyn takes Ruby for a boat ride in the lake on the estate’s grounds. When they pull up at a little island in the lake, they make the gruesome discovery of a human skull…
she feels a sham, but the excellent salary offered causes her to push her guilt to the recesses of her mind. Despite her lack of psychiatric knowledge about her new position, she seems to form an immediate bond with one of the residents of ‘Howell Hall’. Sylvie has been diagnosed as having hysterical catatonia – but she reacts to Ali’s kind advances.
She begins to enjoy the work, despite herself, but senses that there are many secrets being hidden at Howell Hall. Nothing is quite what they would have you assume…
Most readers will acknowledge that some words reappear time and time again in titles. Often these words are associated with a particular genre. Case in point: “The girl on the train” and “Gone girl” spawned countless thriller titles with the word ‘girl’ in the title.
Elizabeth Gallagher is a 911 operator. Blaming herself for an on-the-job mistake, she has lost confidence in her ability and feels guilty about the outcome of the case. Elizabeth’s guilt is just one of the things that is unsettling her. Her relationship with her husband has become somewhat distant and both of her children are leaving the nest imminently.
Lisa Wingate
