Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Good Samaritans by Will Carver. Carver defines the kill in killer and the clean in crime scene in a whole new way.
About the Author
Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series (Arrow). He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age 11, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, while working on his next thriller. He lives in Reading with his two children.
Follow @will_carver @OrendaBooks on Twitter
Buy Good Samaritans
About the book
One crossed wire, three dead bodies and six bottles of bleach Seth Beauman can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.
But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker, when Seth brings Hadley home…
And someone is watching…
Dark, sexy, dangerous and wildly readable, Good Samaritans marks the scorching return of one of crime fiction’s most exceptional voices.
I really do appreciate the kind of opening chapter or pages that seal the deal in an instant. It sounds like such an easy task, however it is surprising how many authors can't deliver the 'slap to the face' approach. It's usually a case of casting a line, waiting for a bite and slowly drawing a reader in, which is equally compelling, and yet it doesn't have the same feel or appeal to it.
Sean loves his wife and hates his wife, despises his job and is being driven just a wee bit insane by his insomnia. His only moments of joy are when he connects with strangers in the middle of the night via random phone calls. Hadley is one of the strangers he connects with when she reaches out to find someone to talk to. Someone who will keep her from harming herself. Their story is one of coincidence and also one of fate, then again it might just be fateful for one of them.
It's kind of ironic that the story suggests that trust is a forgotten character trait and no longer something we can automatically rely on. The message is trust no one, because you just never know who might be hiding behind the seemingly innocent exterior.
The more poignant message in this story, in my opinion, is the one about loneliness. The depths of despair we keep hidden from others, the feeling of being completely and utterly lost and not knowing why or how to fix it. The smiles we fix upon our faces to greet the world every single day, whilst wanting to disappear from the world in equal measures. I think the author captures that particular essence of humanity and relays it, albeit through the eyes of potential killers, in a way we can all relate to.
I'm not quite sure whether it's a compliment or not, but based on his plot, and all-round worryingly creepy and accurate descriptions of both the killing and the killers, Carver would probably make a highly efficient serial-killer. Just putting that out there into the universe. You just never know when you might need a new career.
Don't expect it to be pretty or romanticised, this is not only the hardcore reality of pleasure induced by killing, it is also a snapshot moment of the systemic misery and darkness hidden in our society. It's the kind of psychological thriller that makes you feel sorry for the killer and dislike them all at the same time. Carver defines the kill in killer and the clean in crime scene in a whole new way. Note: One shall no longer be singing three bottles of beer on the wall, from now on it's bleach...
Buy Good Samaritans at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Orenda Books (15 Sept. 2018)
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