Review by IcedTea -- Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)
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IcedTea
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- Latest Review: Waves Break (on Unknown Shores) by Barry Litherland
Review by IcedTea -- Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)
[Following is a volunteer review of "Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)" by Barry Litherland.]
Waves Break (on Unknown Shores) by Barry Litherland is crime thriller surrounding murder, corrupt politicians, shady businesses and, of course, the past coming back to haunt the present. It follows Phil, a witty, yet realistic journalist for a small local paper as he gets himself wrapped up in the consequences of a dangerous crime, one which threatens to unbury a history several unsavoury people would better like to stay hidden. Purely by the association to his childhood friend, one which seems to have the whole world against him, he gets a timer put on his life and has to quickly figure out what had happened and find a way out. At the same time, we’re told the story of the characters’ childhoods, slowly making our way towards the murder that changed everything.
First and foremost, I must say I hadn’t expected to get this engrossed, as it rarely happens. From page one, the story had me hooked, and I could barely put it down until the last line. Never did it feel dragged out, the pace was quick enough to keep me engaged, but not too fast to overwhelm me. The aspect I liked most about the book, though, has to be the characters. It’s not often that I find a protagonist that I actively root for and genuinely learn to care for, so Phil was a welcomed change. He wasn’t the “protagonist type”, as most of us are familiar with, not particularly noble or brave or anything of the like, but he was realistic and relatable in a charming way. I especially enjoyed his quippy attitude, one which shone through brightly during the most intense scenes. It didn’t make it seem as if he wasn’t afraid—he certainly was—but it gave the interactions an amusing colour without taking away the feeling of danger. It also was clear how much he cared for his friends, namely Wayne, the childhood friend, and Tina. Speaking of, both of their characters were also portrayed nicely. I wish we had gotten more interactions with Wayne, though, as he had a very headstrong and loyal personality which I found particularly enjoyable. Tina herself might just be my new role-model—strong and incredibly caring, defiant and not afraid to stand up for the ones she loves. I could go on for a long while just about the characters, how likeable some of them became over time, how intimidating the bad guys were, how they all had their unique voices, how they all changed in interesting ways, but then I’d have a whole novel myself by the end.
The thing I liked the least about the story would have to be the intricacies of the plot itself. Now, don’t get me wrong, the mystery and the progression and the twists and turns were executed very well, but at times I felt like it wasn’t explained enough. It’s mostly on me, though, as I guess mysteries aren’t supposed to tell the reader everything and they usually let them figure out a lot of details by themselves, but it did take me a significant amount of time to understand what was happening when I should have. Then again, I finally got it by the end, so it didn’t make much of a difference in the long run. There were also a lot of names involved, and even though I did try to keep up with them, I had to eventually give up. I liked that the author put so much trust in his readers, but I suppose with me there was too much of it.
I had a blast with the writing itself. Like Phil, the narration was witty, yet often elusive. It made me grin on more than one occasion, but it always had a shakiness to it, brought out by a darkness in the subtext. I really liked the several call-backs throughout the story, both line-level and plot-level. On a more technical level, I noticed a couple of mistakes, but they were so minor and so few and far in between that it didn’t matter. It also had those “filler” words as we like to call them, but they seemed intentional and part of the overall style. It certainly felt like we were inside Phil’s head.
The people I'd recommend this to are, of course, crime thriller lovers. I believe adults or simply those more familiar with elusive storytelling would enjoy it more than younger ones as it wasn't straightforward and did require to read a lot between the lines. It also had a lot of character-driven elements, so those who like that sort of thing should certainly give this story a shot.
Overall, I give this book 4 stars out of 4. It was an incredibly enjoyable read, one that kept me on my toes for its entirety. The faults I found with it were trivial enough to not knock down a star, and all the positives made up for them anyway. I loved following Phil and hearing his thoughts, seeing how he interacted with people, witnessing the conflicts inside of him and how they prompted him to act better by the end. All the loose ends were tied up by the end, the present and the past converging at last. I think the best way to describe the end is bittersweet, and I’m very happy I’d decided to pick up this book.
******
Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Waves Break (on Unknown Shores) by Barry Litherland is crime thriller surrounding murder, corrupt politicians, shady businesses and, of course, the past coming back to haunt the present. It follows Phil, a witty, yet realistic journalist for a small local paper as he gets himself wrapped up in the consequences of a dangerous crime, one which threatens to unbury a history several unsavoury people would better like to stay hidden. Purely by the association to his childhood friend, one which seems to have the whole world against him, he gets a timer put on his life and has to quickly figure out what had happened and find a way out. At the same time, we’re told the story of the characters’ childhoods, slowly making our way towards the murder that changed everything.
First and foremost, I must say I hadn’t expected to get this engrossed, as it rarely happens. From page one, the story had me hooked, and I could barely put it down until the last line. Never did it feel dragged out, the pace was quick enough to keep me engaged, but not too fast to overwhelm me. The aspect I liked most about the book, though, has to be the characters. It’s not often that I find a protagonist that I actively root for and genuinely learn to care for, so Phil was a welcomed change. He wasn’t the “protagonist type”, as most of us are familiar with, not particularly noble or brave or anything of the like, but he was realistic and relatable in a charming way. I especially enjoyed his quippy attitude, one which shone through brightly during the most intense scenes. It didn’t make it seem as if he wasn’t afraid—he certainly was—but it gave the interactions an amusing colour without taking away the feeling of danger. It also was clear how much he cared for his friends, namely Wayne, the childhood friend, and Tina. Speaking of, both of their characters were also portrayed nicely. I wish we had gotten more interactions with Wayne, though, as he had a very headstrong and loyal personality which I found particularly enjoyable. Tina herself might just be my new role-model—strong and incredibly caring, defiant and not afraid to stand up for the ones she loves. I could go on for a long while just about the characters, how likeable some of them became over time, how intimidating the bad guys were, how they all had their unique voices, how they all changed in interesting ways, but then I’d have a whole novel myself by the end.
The thing I liked the least about the story would have to be the intricacies of the plot itself. Now, don’t get me wrong, the mystery and the progression and the twists and turns were executed very well, but at times I felt like it wasn’t explained enough. It’s mostly on me, though, as I guess mysteries aren’t supposed to tell the reader everything and they usually let them figure out a lot of details by themselves, but it did take me a significant amount of time to understand what was happening when I should have. Then again, I finally got it by the end, so it didn’t make much of a difference in the long run. There were also a lot of names involved, and even though I did try to keep up with them, I had to eventually give up. I liked that the author put so much trust in his readers, but I suppose with me there was too much of it.
I had a blast with the writing itself. Like Phil, the narration was witty, yet often elusive. It made me grin on more than one occasion, but it always had a shakiness to it, brought out by a darkness in the subtext. I really liked the several call-backs throughout the story, both line-level and plot-level. On a more technical level, I noticed a couple of mistakes, but they were so minor and so few and far in between that it didn’t matter. It also had those “filler” words as we like to call them, but they seemed intentional and part of the overall style. It certainly felt like we were inside Phil’s head.
The people I'd recommend this to are, of course, crime thriller lovers. I believe adults or simply those more familiar with elusive storytelling would enjoy it more than younger ones as it wasn't straightforward and did require to read a lot between the lines. It also had a lot of character-driven elements, so those who like that sort of thing should certainly give this story a shot.
Overall, I give this book 4 stars out of 4. It was an incredibly enjoyable read, one that kept me on my toes for its entirety. The faults I found with it were trivial enough to not knock down a star, and all the positives made up for them anyway. I loved following Phil and hearing his thoughts, seeing how he interacted with people, witnessing the conflicts inside of him and how they prompted him to act better by the end. All the loose ends were tied up by the end, the present and the past converging at last. I think the best way to describe the end is bittersweet, and I’m very happy I’d decided to pick up this book.
******
Waves Break (on Unknown Shores)
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Waves Break (on Unknown Shores) by Barry Litherland
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Valerie Garske
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I also was surprised by how good this book actually is. Rarely do I find a book that has complete closure and yet definitely a twist.
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