Genres: Fiction, Horror
I received this book from the author in exchange for the review, it is my first time doing like this, receiving a book directly from an author and I was pretty excited to read it.
Dead of July by Sandra Thompson set in Dortmund, Germany and with paranormal twist, it has some thrill too. Married to British Army Officer, one Sunday afternoon Sheila came across a badly beaten young girl in a local park near her home. The girl’s name was Anna. Anna was being pursued by an angry drunken man with a murderous look in his eyes. Sheila led Anna for the safety. A couple of days later their paths crossed again and Anna told Sheila about the abuse she had suffered at the hands of tormentor, the man who chased her in the park. Sheila, appalled by Anna’s story, helped her get out of town, but paid the price for interfering. The tormentor focused his attention on Sheila. He wanted revenge in the worst possible way. The story doesn’t ends here. With some more thrill and some more twist the plot advances. Sheila, the protagonist, see things. Some dark shadows, maybe it’s a ghost or it’s just her imagination.
I am quite fascinated by the author’s knowledge of football (soccer). And I wonder as the Word Cup 2014 is arriving, will she’d still supporting Italy? The author has given proper space to each and every character in the book. It’s a hard thing to do, many great writers fail. But Sandra, does not. She goes on creating characters boldly and beautifully. I quite enjoyed the supernatural aspect of the story. It’s not normal for me to do that. Paranormal-fiction, is my least concern and least favorable genre to read, but the amount of paranormal aspect in this book is used, and the way it weaves it’s on web is a major positive part of the book.
The book starts with a good, comfortable pace but in between something happens to the pace, and I think the coordination of the plot and the first person narrative try to collapse. This also result in the lack of thrill and in the lack suspense which are very essential for the particular kind of genre. The good side of the first person narrative in this book that it is a wise use to get familiar with the character and its surroundings, which in-fact help the reader to develop a bond with the character.
Being a self-published novel, I was quite surprised as I did not find any grammatical mistake or a spelling mistake. And it is also professionally edited. The book has got some good potential to have a readership, and I can guarantee a potential reader if he or she picks this up, they won’t be disappointed.
I am eagerly waiting for next one. Her hard work did pay off with this one, but I know next one would be better.
3.5 out of 5 form me!
You can visit Sandra Thompson at: www.wordsfrombeyond.com
Do check out her blog: www.wordsfrombeyond.wordpress.com
Buy this Book: Amanzon.com
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