"The Gift of Illusion" By Richard Brown.
Author,
Richard Brown opens this his debut novel with a sharp kick.
Detective Isaac Winters… relives the memory of
the night 16 years before when his beloved wife Linda was murdered by an
intruder. The intruder shoots and almost
kills Isaac… before shooting Isaac’s wife Linda four times in the chest. Isaac manages to save his baby daughter, and
kill the intruder: then spends the ensuing 16 years punishing himself for not
being able to save his wife.
The
author has a gift for description, which he utilizes to full effect in these
opening scenes.
We are
then taken on a journey into the bazaar, where nothing and no one is what they
appear to be. The characterization of
Isaac Winter is well fleshed out, his guilt and his attempts to continue
protecting his now teenage daughter are made clear.
This is a man you care about enough to want
him to not merely survive, but to do so happily.
The
apparent murder of a young girl by fire, and the subsequent death of her mother
and her father send Detective Isaac Winters and his reluctant partner Daniel
Simmons into a world of confusion and doubt.
The deaths appear to be ‘Spontaneous
Human Combustion’ with no accelerants or any other form of fire implements
being found at any of the scenes. A pile
of ash, and a remaining limb or part of a body is all that remains. That and the same small, carved statue found
at each of the scenes are all they have to go on.
More disappearances,
more incinerated bodies and the reader is given an insight into the evil force
controlling the entire situation. The
body count grows.
Enter
Veronica Maples an author of a non-fiction work titled “The Illusionist.” Ms Maples sees a sketch of the statue in a
newspaper and is stunned to find it matches a photograph used in her book.
She
brings the book to the attention of Isaac and his partner. I found the ability to suspend disbelief a
little strained at this point…the plot is very good, however the calm acceptance
shown by the Detectives at the writers claims seemed out of character for the
men. Especially given the cynical point
of view attributed by the central character of Isaac up to this point.
Apart
from that small jolt, the story moves along at a good pace, a few instances of
less than pristine investigative techniques displayed by the seasoned cop and
his not so young partner don’t distract the reader sufficiently to spoil the
remainder of the book.
It is a
good read; the author has a command of description and dialogue that hold it
together well. The horror scenes are
well handled and not over the top, the paranormal elements are skillfully
crafted.
The
ending is a little rushed for me, however not enough to spoil a good read. All in all a debut novel that shows
descriptive skill, and a talent for storytelling. I will be interested to read more of Author
Richard Browns work…I believe he shows real talent here.
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