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Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Fails to deliver

I suppose the real problem I had with this story is that I read it immediately after the amazing "The Heart's Invisible Furies" by John Boyne which was a literary tour de force. To step down from that high and to read what is no more than an average tale is a bit of a disappointment. Serial Killer Dane Peters known as the Rest Stop Dentist has just been executed and his mother Ella May, who deeply loved her son, is trying to understand why his ghost will not leave her in peace. She starts on a journey which leads her to discover her own shortcomings, and realizes that she failed miserably in her duties as a mother by allowing her evil husband Phil to brutalize and destroy their son. What starts with great promise becomes nothing more than a road trip journey when Ella, joined by journalist Sven Godel, (and directed by the ghostly presence of the executed Dane) attempts to find Dane's true love Melissa. An unexpected surprise transpires that ultimately offers Ella some serenity in a story that for me failed miserably to deliver.

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