Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Never Be Broken by Sarah Hilary. It's crime fiction with nuances of literary fiction.
About the Author
Sarah Hilary’s debut, Someone Else’s Skin, won Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2015 and was a World Book Night selection for 2016. The Observer’s Book of the Month (‘superbly disturbing’) and a Richard & Judy Book Club bestseller, it has been published worldwide. No Other Darkness, the second in the series was shortlisted for a Barry Award in the US. Her DI Marnie Rome series continued with Tastes Like Fear, Quieter Than Killing and Come And Find Me.
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About the book
Children are dying on London's streets. Frankie Reece, stabbed through the heart, outside a corner shop. Others recruited from care homes, picked up and exploited; passed like gifts between gangs. They are London's lost. Then Raphaela Belsham is killed. She's thirteen years old, her father is a man of influence, from a smart part of town. And she's white. Suddenly, the establishment is taking notice.
DS Noah Jake is determined to handle Raphaela's case and Frankie's too. But he's facing his own turmoil, and it's becoming an obsession. DI Marnie Rome is worried, and she needs Noah on side. Because more children are disappearing, more are being killed by the day and the swelling tide of violence needs to be stemmed before it's too late.
I have to hand it to Hilary, it's no small feat to write crime fiction which has the written beauty of literary fiction. Whilst the reader enjoys the criminal aspect of the plot they can simultaneously float in the pleasure of the beautiful prose. I had to stop at times and just go over certain sentences or paragraphs again, and I would love to give an example of said moments, to just take in the words once more and let them sink in.
The violent crime takes place, as the main characters circle the events like distracted birds of prey. The prose initiates moments where the reader is taken out of the story then brought back to earth with a thrust of brusque reality. In doing so Hilary gives the reader a taste of her talents if released from the confines of the genre and also changes the experience of the read in regards to the crime element. I felt there was more of visceral connection to the characters because of it, especially to Noah.
The premise is very much in keeping with the Wild West scenario in London at the moment. The killing and murders of young people on a regular basis. The author describes the grooming that takes place, of young children and teens in areas of deprivation. Scouted from the very beginning and not given much choice in the matter. It's a join or be a target kind of gang culture.
At the centre of this story is DS Noah Jake, who is grieving the loss of his brother. His inner torment has manifested itself in visual and oral hallucinations, which Noah is reluctant to let go of. Letting the process of grief take place may mean saying goodbye to his brother forever.
It's crime fiction with nuances of literary fiction. Hilary is an excellent storyteller and writer, and is getting better with every book.
Buy Never Be Broken at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Headline; pub date 16 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Headline.
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