Sunday 19 April 2020

The F*ck It List by John Niven




It is America 2026, President Trump has completed two terms of office and now his daughter Ivanka is President. In this, unfortunately, quite plausible future Frank Brill is given a diagnosis of Terminal Cancer. 

Now, in many fictional futures of this ilk Frank would be off on a 'journey' to make amends etc, or to visit all his 'dream destinations' but with The F*ck It List he goes on a mission of revenge. He has a list of 5 names of people he believes are responsible for his position in life and he is going to use his time to make them pay. The whys and wherefores of the list are not clear straight away but as the answers come clear it becomes a very clever tale indeed. His life has not been an easy one so it's not hard to get behind him. 

The future America shown here is scary in it's plausibility and makes for an excellent setting although there are a few scenes that some may see as a bit 'near the knuckle'. This is a fine read though - I got through it in 3 days. 

The sign of a good story (in my opinion) is that you reach the end and want to go back for more. And this hits all the points. Frank is a memorable character and l enjoyed his journey through the darkness. I will be looking out for more from this author. 

Thanks, as always to Anne Cater for inviting me onto this tour and please, try and find a chance to look at the other posts by the other bloggers (below) 


4/5* 

Sunday 5 April 2020

Sanctuary by V V James


Welcome to the small town of Sanctuary, where the star quarterback is dead in what looks like a an unfortunate accident. But then the accusations start. What 'terrible act' was Dan (the Q/B) supposedly guilty of? What about his ex, Harper? She was there when he died - is she somehow responsible? Will the town be able to survive the storm?

As a novel this felt very much like a Desperate Housewives style US TV series, lots of intrigue, mystery, witchcraft and 'stuff' going on behind closed doors. All looks perfect in Sanctuary but the truth is not always what the eye sees.

Told from four different points of view the story carries the narrative from all levels of Sanctuary society as well as the police angle so things flow along nicely. The book starts off with a list of characters which can be off-putting but, being honest, I was grateful for it. Not that it's confusing, I just liked to check on who was who.

So, in short, Desperate Housewives with witchcraft in Small-town America. Seriously, if someone doesn't televise this I'll be very surprised.

Recommended 4/5*