In 30 words or less, tell us what is great about a book you are reading at the moment. The best critique will be printed in the March issue of The Weekly and the writer will win The AWW Cooking School cookbook, valued at $74.95.
FROM BLOOD BY EDWARD WRIGHT, ORION, $32.99..
Is it the confessional protagonist Shannon Fairchild or the gritty domestic political-thriller plot that conjures the heady aura of film noir in this crime novel? Either way – and it’s probably a combination of the two – it makes for a compulsive and very visual read.
Author Edward Wright, whose first career was newspaper editor, gives just enough detail and description to paint the picture but also devotes time to developing his characters beyond the usual crime-thriller stereotypes, so you care about what happens to them.
The result is a fast-paced, engaging read, perfect to transport you on lazy summer days.
The novel opens with a powerful scene. It’s 1968 and a security guard and his child are blown up in what appears to be a callous, terrorist-style attack. Fast-forward to present day and Shannon Fairchild is nursing a shiny black eye as she is hauled in front of a judge in a local courthouse to explain the drunken brawl that landed her in the clink overnight. How Shannon is linked to this event unfolds much, much later in the novel.
Shannon is the rebellious bolshy heroine who has always felt like the square peg in her academic, high-achieving family circle, not because she couldn’t keep up, but because she felt an uncontrollable need to rebel.
When her parents are tortured, murdered and their home torched, Shannon is forced to revisit her notion of these mild-mannered professors and of her troubled role within the family unit. A curious message from her dying mother’s bedside sets Shannon on a path to investigate their past and fulfil her mother’s final request. What she discovers, however, is a disturbing and rather exciting back story of radical politics that careered far beyond a few student rallies. Shannon is perplexed and the more she uncovers, the more she realises how little she understood her parents and how much they understood her.
While you won’t be guessing all the way to the last line, there are enough turns to keep the plot moving and plenty of tightly drawn characters. But the real strength of Wright’s tale is his central character: the feisty, self-deprecating “girl pirate” who just can’t help but get involved.
In 30 words or less, tell us what is great about a book you are reading at the moment. The best critique will be printed in the March issue of The Weekly and the writer will win The AWW Cooking School cookbook, valued at $74.95.
Please ensure you leave an email address you can be contacted on in order to be eligible for the prize.
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