Direction

Prior to this, I had passed a posse of five police officers hiding behind the park wall to catch a speeder. I'm a big fan of catching speedy types but this seemed a little OTT. Maybe releasing one of their number to walk around a few streets & make us all feel safer wouldn't have been amiss but hey, what do i know.

An amazing review of 'The Birthday Gift' today on the Nudge Book Review site & replayed in full below. It is really heartening to have people who I have no idea who they are or how they got hold of it, review it and 'get it.'

review published on June 2, 2015. Reviewed by Kathy Jesson

Nudge Reviewer Rating: four stars

Living in Cornwall as I do I was intrigued when this novel, set for the first half of the book in the stunning St Ives, and a maverick choice from Guy, arrived to be reviewed. I was gripped from the first page with the very evocative description of a late Summer evening on a lovely Cornish beach (the book is full of beautifully descriptive writing). I stayed engrossed until the very last page.

Centred around Noah Spearing, a young local teacher, this is the story of events following the death of his beloved grandfather (Joshua) who, with only a short time to live, gives his grandson a mysterious gift to be opened only when Joshua dies. The gift is a painting. To reveal too much more in this review is to destroy the suspense of the novel as it twists and turns towards its exciting conclusion. Suffice to say there are echoes of both the film The Monuments Men and the Donna Tartt novel The Goldfinch as the painting and the way in which it was acquired had its very own sinister history. Almost a character in its own right. The contrast between the exquisite descriptions of Cornwall and the violent scenes played out in Poland is very effective and adds to the sense that things are really not always as they seem on the surface. Secrets can remain hidden for years and then astound us when they are revealed.

Part romance and part thriller, I think this is essentially a novel about love. As the action sweeps from Cornwall to London, through France and Germany and then eventually to Poland, we see various loves in the context of greed, loss, sorrow and betrayal. However somewhere in the midst of all this there is still, thankfully, a fragile thread of hope and loyalty and some bonds which can never be destroyed. This was certainly an unputdownable read, my only disappointment being that the ending was slightly inconclusive and left a few ends to tie up, but there again maybe that is all part of the mystery.
– Kathy Jesson

The Birthday Gift by Anthony Scott, published by Matador on 28th November, 2014 at £9.99

- See more at: http://www.nudge-book.com/blog/bookdiva/2015/06/02/the-birthday-gift-by-anthony-scott/#sthash.hVbpa18Z.dpuf