Started April 26th, finished April 27th.
This was the first of my 'holiday reading' books. It was one my mum had passed on after she'd read it. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of the author before as she writes books set in Manchester.
This is the story of a small group on the lower edges of the class system. One of whom has the bright idea of robbing the estate shop. His friends are daft enough to agree to his 'foolproof' plan. Unsurprisingly not all goes to plan or is as it seems.
As I began this book I found the way the speech was written a little off-putting. It was correctly written as it would be spoken but it took me a little while to stop noticing the style of speech before what was actually said. This isn't a fault of the book but a foible I have with any book written as such. I'm glad to say this wore off as I got further into it. It then added to the richness of the tale.
The strong point for me here were the characters. All (sadly) recognisable. The book is obviously set in the recent past as landmarks in the book no longer exist. I wonder how much the author experienced the area and the people in it as she writes it very well.
The story is really easy to read. I got through most of it on the flight. It's nice to have a tale written about the less glamourous side of society. Especially when it avoids criticism and just lays it on the table. I'm not totally sure about the end of the book and how realistic it is. It's a satisfying end though with things tied up neatly enough but not totally.
I will be looking up the author's other works but only when I shrink my 'To read tower'.
3.5 out of 5 pawprints
Total so far, Books - 27, Pages - 8,418
Next - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
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