ARA Review by Mr Lucky 3 of Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)

[Mr Lucky 3]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Waves Break (on Unknown Shores).]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Following is a volunteer review of "Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)" by Barry Litherland.]
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4 out of 5 stars
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Philip Tyler and Wayne Keech have a long history of friendship. A tragic childhood event reinforced their unusual bond. As children, everyone avoids Wayne because of his repulsive behavior and his delinquent older brother, Tyrone. As a boy, Philip considers Tyrone as his worst nightmare and feels terrorized every time he sees him. Now an adult, Philip works as a writer at the local newspaper of their small town. He is still friends with the notorious Wayne. However, the childhood terrors of Philip resurface when Tyrone is back in town. Also, Wayne is allegedly the prime suspect of a crime. Philip believes it is a frame-up, but who is the culprit?

Waves Break (on Unknown Shores) by Barry Litherland is a crime fiction novel about how an event or a person is connected and influences another, like ripples in a pond. The actions and decisions in the past have impacts on the present, like a childhood tragedy affecting adult life. It also mentions socially relevant topics like bullying, child abuse, and violent behavior. The story examines how individuals and the community respond to these social issues. Sometimes, people choose not to get involved because of various reasons. They will only take action if such incidents affect them. Whether people take action or not, their choices cause subsequent effects on the individual and the community. In the story, Tyrone openly displays violent behavior towards Wayne. But most of the townspeople only stand and watch. Sadly, this incident is prevalent in our small communities. This examination towards such issues is timely and relevant. It is what I like most in the book.

Philip narrates the story from his lens. However, readers only see the interconnectivity of the events and individuals from his point of view. I would appreciate seeing different angles of the relatedness of the incidents and characters. It could add some layers to the waves and ripples-on-a-pond analogy, as the title suggests. The narration switches from the past to the present to give the backstory of the characters. It is effective in presenting how the children turn out as adults. For example, Tyrone, the childhood delinquent, becomes a social monster. But, I would like to have a further understanding of the behavior of Tyrone. I would prefer to know more information about the factors that made him that way and not see him only as pure evil. Also, the use of language attempts to show the distinction among characters. For example, Wayne talks with swear words. However, other characters also use profanity. So, in a dialogue, there is not much difference. Sometimes, I have to go back to identify who the speaker is. I would have liked seeing more differentiation from the speech of the characters. These are some of the items I did not like much in the book.

The story is an easy read because the words are straightforward. There are no erotic scenes and no offensive content for any religious group. But as mentioned earlier, there are profanities. This book is suitable for an audience of 16 years old and above and will appeal to readers keen on character-driven crime stories.

The topics explored in the book are notable, but I would like to see more angles in the perspectives and distinctions from the characters. Also, there are editing issues. They are not distracting but are beyond the unnoticeable count. For these reasons, I give a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

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Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)
This review of "Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)" by Barry Litherland provides a comprehensive analysis of the book's themes, character development, and narrative style. It praises the exploration of social issues like bullying and violence while offering constructive criticism on the narration's perspective and character differentiation. The reviewer also mentions editing issues but overall gives the book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

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