Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Before I Boarded A Train



This is a thriller that should be bought only if the reader has a particular diversionary need in mind.

As it is essentially a three-handed epistolary novel in which the events take place in a handful of locations it is not, despite the suggested questions at the back, suitable for a book club, particularly if the other readers are prone to comments such as “I wish I had the bravery to buy cushions like that”.

Nor is it ideal for a sufferer of SAD who is looking for a novel to help him through a Tuesday evening in November because the story does not fully engage the intellect. It could, therefore, make the sufferer feel worse as he might to start to question his decision making.

However, its short sentences and punchy style make it close to ideal for readers who are facing a journey and, for whatever reason, crave an easy to read distraction. I read half of it whilst I was lightly toasted on a Saturday evening train from Birmingham and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'd say it was the perfect thriller to buy at Birmingham New Street station at 8pm on a Saturday night.