Abattoir of Dreams

Goodreads Description

The past is never far away.

Michael Tate has not had an easy life. With his father in prison, and his mother dead, Michael was sent to Woodside Children’s Home. Now an adult, Michael wakes up from a coma in hospital suffering from amnesia and paralysis. Confused and terrified, he is charged with the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, Becky. He also learns he attempted to end his own life.

Detective Inspector John Carver is determined that Michael is sent to prison.With no way of defending himself, Michael is left in his hospital bed awaiting transfer to remand.But then strange things begin to happen and his childhood comes back to haunt him. Can Michael ever escape the past?Will he ever discover the truth about Becky’s murder?And why is DI Carver so eager to make him suffer?

The Abattoir of Dreams is a bitter sweet story of murder, innocence and abuse.

My Review

This is a difficult book to define. It seems to have a little bit of everything, and it doesn't fit neatly into any one genre. If you love suspense novels, you'll enjoy it. If you love novels with supernatural elements, then you'll enjoy it. If you love family saga's, then you'll enjoy it. There are also small elements of horror and romance. It's a book that slips easily between all these different genres, making is truly unique.

This is the story about Michael, a man who wakes up in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the waist down and with amnesia, unable to remember a single thing about his past or who he is. And he definitely doesn't remember stabbing his girlfriend twenty one times, which he has been accused of doing. The reader is then taken back into Michael's past, a young boy living a very difficult childhood. In fact, the majority of this book focuses on Michael's life as a boy, his time spent at the children's home and his friendship with another boy that he meets there. And it's a fascinating but uncomfortable journey.

The author uses plenty of dialogue in this story, with very little description, which, personally, is something that I love. I often find that books written in this way draw the reader in, are fast paced and the reader is left with a very clear sense of who the characters are. And that's another strength of this story: the characterization is great. The evil characters, and take it from me, there are a number of them, were easy to despise. I loathed them all and if I could have stepped into the pages of the book and given them a piece of my mind, I would have. On second thought though, they were all so despicable and cruel that I think I might have been just as scared as Michael was.

This book is very dark, touching on some serious subject matter like woman and child abuse, police brutality, bullying and murder. Some of the scenes are very graphic and thus uncomfortable to read, but yet gripping at the same time. There's a part of me that was cringing and close to tears while reading these scenes, and then at the same time I couldn't wait to turn the pages to see how the scenes would play out. One thing is certain though, you won't be bored with this one. But you do need to have a strong constitution. If you like your reads to be gentle and smelling of roses, then this one definitely won't be for you. But if difficult topics, dark characters and even darker scenes are your thing, then give this one a try. I loved it.

My Rating: * * * *

Publication Date: 8 February 2017

Genre: Literary Fiction

Format: Trade paperback

Source: My own purchased copy.