Official Review: Greenhill by Gary Cann
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jenbel
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- Latest Review: "Greenhill" by Gary Cann
Official Review: Greenhill by Gary Cann
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Greenhill" by Gary Cann.]
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Greenhill by Gary Cann is a little mystery/thriller with a "Bourne-esque" quality to it. I say "little" because at 171 pages it is quite short for a novel. The story is set in various towns/cities in England, some familiar...some not.
Mild-mannered Malcolm Gregson is the unlikely hero. He is self-deprecating and a bit of a sad sack, but likable nonetheless. Malcolm has just lost his wife and seems a bit lost as he maneuvers his way through the first few days without her. Then he runs into the beautiful Sonia Fox, an old school mate, who turns his world upside down. Sonia leads him on a wild goose chase complete with murder and cloak and dagger scenarios, putting him in jeopardy and increasingly confused by his own behavior. He is interrogated by police, followed, attacked, and drugged. All of the chaos starts to bring up long suppressed memories of things that Malcolm has a difficult time believing he was ever part of. We are left with a cliffhanger of sorts wondering if we are to draw our own conclusions or if Malcolm will be back in another novel.
I definitely found the story interesting and wanted to know what would become of poor Malcolm. His character is so normal and boring that he surprises himself over and over with his new behaviors saying they are "out of character" throughout the story. He repeats this so much that it becomes a bit tiresome until you finally realize there is more to Malcolm Gregson than being someone's dupe.
None of the characters are fleshed out properly and I blame this on the shortness of the book. We never really know anything about Malcolm or Sonia or any of the minor characters that tend to bring novels to life. I would've liked to have known these characters better. There are also some issues with the flow of the novel because of the lack of detail. Some characters appear and disappear quickly and you're never sure how they fit in to the puzzle. There also seem to be some gratuitous pieces. For instance, it begins with a short prologue which is intriguing and while you eventually understand why it's there (there are similar parts in the story), you never know exactly where it fit in. I found myself asking many questions because several things didn't seem quite right. Regardless, everything does make sense at the end even if some short cuts were taken to get there. While too much description doesn't leave enough to the readers imagination, too little doesn't allow the reader to become attached to the story or the characters.
All in all, I enjoyed the story. There may have been a few glitches, but the plot was solid. I give Greenhill 3 out of 4 stars and recommend it as a quick read for any mystery lover.
***
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Mild-mannered Malcolm Gregson is the unlikely hero. He is self-deprecating and a bit of a sad sack, but likable nonetheless. Malcolm has just lost his wife and seems a bit lost as he maneuvers his way through the first few days without her. Then he runs into the beautiful Sonia Fox, an old school mate, who turns his world upside down. Sonia leads him on a wild goose chase complete with murder and cloak and dagger scenarios, putting him in jeopardy and increasingly confused by his own behavior. He is interrogated by police, followed, attacked, and drugged. All of the chaos starts to bring up long suppressed memories of things that Malcolm has a difficult time believing he was ever part of. We are left with a cliffhanger of sorts wondering if we are to draw our own conclusions or if Malcolm will be back in another novel.
I definitely found the story interesting and wanted to know what would become of poor Malcolm. His character is so normal and boring that he surprises himself over and over with his new behaviors saying they are "out of character" throughout the story. He repeats this so much that it becomes a bit tiresome until you finally realize there is more to Malcolm Gregson than being someone's dupe.
None of the characters are fleshed out properly and I blame this on the shortness of the book. We never really know anything about Malcolm or Sonia or any of the minor characters that tend to bring novels to life. I would've liked to have known these characters better. There are also some issues with the flow of the novel because of the lack of detail. Some characters appear and disappear quickly and you're never sure how they fit in to the puzzle. There also seem to be some gratuitous pieces. For instance, it begins with a short prologue which is intriguing and while you eventually understand why it's there (there are similar parts in the story), you never know exactly where it fit in. I found myself asking many questions because several things didn't seem quite right. Regardless, everything does make sense at the end even if some short cuts were taken to get there. While too much description doesn't leave enough to the readers imagination, too little doesn't allow the reader to become attached to the story or the characters.
All in all, I enjoyed the story. There may have been a few glitches, but the plot was solid. I give Greenhill 3 out of 4 stars and recommend it as a quick read for any mystery lover.
***
Buy "Greenhill" on Amazon
Latest Review: "Greenhill" by Gary Cann
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Harvey2014
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Thanks for the review; I appreciate your comments
