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Location: Norway

Member Since: May 03, 2012

Alan Rhodes

Smashwords book reviews by Alan Rhodes

Underneath on June 24, 2012

I wrote the following review to appear on The e-reader House Facebook page BOOK REVIEW - Underneath by Michael Cargill This is the third of the book reviews we committed to as a way of saying `Thank You' when the page hit 900 likes. Initially I had been going to review another Michael Cargill book but after 'Underneath' was published last week he and I agreed I would switch and review this very new book. It tells the story of a young man, Hugh, and his interaction with a number of people around him. Given the title and the product information I don't think I am giving too much away if I say that progressively the `Underneath' side of Hugh quickly emerges. The book is approximately 122 pages long and I read it in one go - probably a couple of hours. The descriptions of characters, places and action are all good and the author has an excellent eye for detail, even allowing observational comedy to creep in without detracting from the story. The book is not a huge mystery or `who-done-it' style of suspense novel rather it is a well-crafted story about the different sides to a person's character and some of the influences on that character with enough of a `what is going to happen next?' element to keep the reader turning the pages. In addition the story has a number of sides that start off in parallel but inevitably come together as the book progresses. One side introduces 2 police officers and the differences between them and Hugh, despite there being some `superficial' similarities, adds to the thoughtfulness of the book . There are no real big sudden `twists' to the story which actually means that the relatively short 122 pages doesn't affect the detail that the author is able to go into. That I got easily into the book and was happy to keep reading it testifies to the fact that I enjoyed both the story and the way it is written. I like books that are believable, set in the current times and that have a thoughtful approach to telling the story so this one was right up my street. So for me it deserves a five star rating and a definite `good value for money' comment.