AUTHOR; Arthur Blake
PUBLISHED BY: Camel Press
It starts with a party,
immediately plunging readers into the trendy atmosphere of the 'Swinging London' of
the era, with its wild parties filled with posing actors, singers and models, the
long-legged girls in mini-dresses, the haze of chain-smoked cigarettes, the
over-loud music, the ever-present alcohol and drugs and the rock stars gazed at
in adoration, as the new gods of the age.
Unfortunately, things take a turn
for the worst; the first death is only a fake death and it takes the shape of a
pretty bad English joke but soon later on, death sets in for real, as a number
of actual murders take place.
Eddie Jackson was one of the
biggest rock stars in the world and unfortunately he died in a car crash; the
death of the lead singer is hushed up and he is replaced by a 'dead ringer'; because
a great deal of people stood to lose money, his death is hushed-up. Clem is Eddie’s best
mate and is convinced his friend’s death was not an accident; he is determined
to find out the truth; as he delves deeper, he suspects he’s part of a bigger
conspiracy and that his mate’s death was no accident.
This novel takes us into the
world of the music industry with vivid descriptions depicting the somewhat hum-drum,
every-day setting of the recording studio and the emotional world of
professional musicians describing what goes through their minds as they play
their instruments, what they hear when they listen to songs and the drivers for
their compositions.
The story has a very clever plot;
it uses an alternative history,
following a fictional 1960’s pop band to explore the marijuana-hazed Sargent
Pepper ‘Paul is dead’ conspiracy theory and I think it would make an ideal TV drama. The story is
fast-paced and well-written, readers will quickly understand the motivations,
weaknesses and levers of the characters; it is thought-provoking and terrifyingly believable.
The story embodies very careful
research with a string of details of everyday life from the period; the brands
of the cigarettes smoked, the names of the bands listened to, the TV talks
shows of the time, the boroughs and places in London which were ‘hot’ and the
type of cars people drove, it all came flooding back as I read and I couldn’t
get enough of it.
Inter-band tensions and friendships are explored and some secret service
villainy and old-fashioned hired muscle creates compelling contrasts which will
drive readers through the story before the dramatic conclusion in which the conspiracy
is revealed with devastating consequences.
Rich characters and nuances that only someone experienced in the music
industry could bring to the intrigue make for an authentic and credible plot; I
was gripped from the start.
Additionally, the small sized
chapters are something I like when reading a book; it makes it easy for readers
to put the book down and pick up again and helps readers dip in and out of the
story.
The author's storytelling skills meant I was quickly hooked; there are
many twists and turns and I flew through the book, not wanting to put it down
until I found out what happened next and why.
It is an enjoyable page-turning
mystery which builds characters and suspense; additionally it has a clever
ending that will leave readers re-reading earlier chapters to be sure of the
clues.
The plot is original and
well-constructed; it contains a great deal of suspense and humour. It is a very
clever journey down a conspiracy theory rabbit-hole and readers who appreciate stories
about conspiracy theories will enjoy this book, it definitely won’t disappoint,
it is an excellent read.
Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
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