New book and review. Chaos Is Come Again by John Dolan and Fiona Quinn.

Hi all:

As you know on Fridays I bring you new books. This one I’d had on my list to share for a while, but I was determined to read it and include the review in the post too. And finally, its turn has come. Today I share a fascinating book:

Chaos is come again by John Dolan and Fiona Quinn. My digital version has a different cover but…

“Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul But I do love thee! And when I love thee not Chaos is come again.” Sean hears voices in his head. Travis snorts cocaine. Teagan thinks she’s the next Lady Gaga. Avery has the boss from Hell, and a mother with dementia. And Goose wants to catch a serial killer. ‘Chaos Is Come Again’ is a psychological suspense, a mystery and a love story, loaded with irreverent humour and viewed through the lens of obsession. WARNING: Contains references to Judas Iscariot, a dwarf, and a performing monkey.

I think the description will probably give you a fair idea of what’s to come, but here is my take on the matter:

The publishing business, murders and madness

I have read and love the three books (so far) in the series Time, Blood and Karma by John Dolan. I know Fiona Quinn from her fantastic blog (I recommend it to anybody interested in writing thrillers. I had the pleasure of being one of her guests). And I was very intrigued by their collaboration. If any more encouragement were needed, the reviews were great too.

I had read interviews about the process involved in writing the novel and I wondered how it would have worked in reality, as it sounded fairly complicated.

Given all that I had been looking forward with trepidation to reading the novel and it did not disappoint.

The novel is seamless. I could not pick up parts that I fell were more likely to have been written by either author (I might have my theories, but nothing stood out), and once I got into the story that was no longer important.

The novel has two main protagonists: Sean, a young Englishman, a barista diagnosed with schizophrenia and with a violent incident in his past that weights heavy in his mind (although we’re never given any details), and Avery, an American woman, a literary agent burdened with a mother suffering from dementia, and whose difficulties provide at times light entertainment and at others add poignancy to the proceedings.

The two storylines: life in the literary world, a woman’s point of view, friends and chocolate cakes; and London’s gritty life, anxiety and self-doubt, together with a writer with a penchant for scandal (some would say blasphemous), an aspiring poet/singer and girlfriend with no evident redeeming qualities, and a mysterious serial killer, create as many plot threads as any eager reader would wish for (possibly even more).

Social media (Twitter in particular) helps bring the two protagonists together and reels us into a thriller/romance, with a disquietingly open ending.

It’s dynamic, flows well although the rhythm varies according to whose point of view we’re seeing the story from, and with its mixture of characters and likable central duo it’s difficult not to find somebody to root for.

This is a book for readers who like to explore outside established genres and don’t mind open endings. I’m not sure die-hard thriller fans would approve but writers will have a chuckle. I did.

Here is where you can get it:

Paperback:   http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Come-Again-John-Dolan/dp/0957325665/

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Come-Again-John-Dolan-ebook/dp/B00OSP0AGW/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chaos-Come-Again-John-Dolan-ebook/dp/B00OSP0AGW/

Thanks to John and Fiona for their book, thanks to all of you for reading, and you know the drill, if you’ve enjoyed it, like, share, comment, and above all, read and review!