Monday 18 October 2010

CRIME REVIEW: Epitaph - Shaun Hutson

Release Date: 18/10/10

BOOK BLURB:

He sucked in a deep breath full of that strange smell he couldn't identify. He trailed his hands across the satin beneath him and to both sides of him and, when he raised his hands, above him too. He knew why it was so dark. He understood why he could see nothing. He realized why he was lying down. He was in a coffin. A distraught couple thinks you've killed their daughter and they want a confession. If you say you did it, they'll kill you. If you say you didn't, they'll leave you to die. It seems hopeless but there is one way out...What would you do?


REVIEW:

Shaun borrows heavily from films such as Last House on the Left as the parents of a murdered child seek vengeance upon the perpetrator. However whilst this sounds pretty descent the major problem with the title is that the reader will more than likely latch onto the twist a lot earlier than the author intended which, to be honest, really lets it down. This eventually leads to a damp fizz of a conclusion, which really left me feeling that I had wasted my time. Parts were a tad graphic with Shaun trying to shock the reader but unfortunately Shaun is showing his age as a writer and with adding parts that really weren’t required or in character left me feeling it was more about satisfying his own expectations rather than listening to the players of the tale.

Overall, it is OK, it is readable but personally I’d recommend picking this up as a paperback as you will save a few quid.

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