What could be greater praise for a book than to say that this is
probably one of the finest novels ever available on the kindle and it’s
thanks to darkfuse that Dark Father was published earlier this
year....and what a cracking story it is.
There are three threads
running; we have Jimmy Hopewell part time gangster and professional wife
beater, one day Kate has had enough and escapes the the torture with
her son Billy. Then there is Frank and the wife he loves Cindy with
their adorable son Jake. In a medical facility/asylum lives Mack a
deeply disturbed patient under the auspices of attending Physicians
Doctor Kincaid and Doctor Faber. To delve deeper into the storyline
would spoil the surprises that await the reader, all three stories have a
thread that will become surprisingly clear as the novel concludes.
The
novel in some ways is a mixture of crime and horror, Jimmy Hopewell’s
lost (removed!) eye and his increasing ability to visualize the future
adds a touch of humour to a somewhat monstrous character. “Jimmy stood
there, his hair hanging across his brow, his face all but destroyed.
His left eye was a black hole, rimmed with attenuated tissue and dried
pulp. There was a large bruise down the left side of his face. His
stubble was dark with blood.” However it is through Frank that we
understand the real meaning of loss and what one sad demented individual
will do to recapture the past. There is a wonderful sad and descriptive
passage that illustrates the beautiful writing style of Mr Cooper and
the deteriorating mind of Frank.....
“He swiped the brush across
Cindy’s lips, creating the perfect smile, and then stood back to admire
his work. He frowned; the effect hadn’t been adequately captured. He
primed the brush with a fresh slug of paint, and then slapped it across
her mouth again, even as Cindy was moaning, trying desperately to
compress her lips. Frank took another step back and smiled, satisfied
with his work, He repeated the whole procedure on the boy, taking more
care this time, almost dabbing on the paint for fear of unnerving his
darling Jakey, which would be inexcusable. He applied the emulsion with a
kind of detached wonder, granting them both cosmetic smiles that
stretched halfway around their face; not a disfiguring scar, but an
extension of their elation. Unequivocal proof of their love.....He
dipped the brush into the tin and drew an irregular line of red paint
across his own mouth. “God, I love you” he said. His family sat across
from him, unmoving, wearing smiles as wet and wide as a slashed throat.!
When
I was 94% complete I still could not see how the author was going to
complete this wonderful story and show the connection of the various
threads to the reader...but I need not have worried in the hands of an
expert the conclusion is crafted to perfection. If you enjoy dark
fiction of the highest quality, with a touch of crime, a dash of humour
and a great dollop of emotional heartbreak then I implore you to read
this amazing story....I can’t recommend highly enough....so what are you
waiting fo:))
