The Mayfly

Goodreads Description

It's happening again. A mutilated body discovered in the woods. A murderous plan conceived in the past. A reckoning seventy years in the making . . . Charlie Priest, ex-detective inspector turned London lawyer, is hired by influential entrepreneur Kenneth Ellinder to investigate the murder of his son. But Priest is no ordinary lawyer. Brilliant, yet flawed, this case will push him, and those closest to him, to the edge. Priest traces the evidence back to the desperate last days of the Second World War. Buried in the ashes of the Holocaust is a secret so deadly its poison threatens to destroy the very heart of the establishment. With more victims going missing, Priest realises that not everyone should be trusted. As he races to uncover the truth, can he prevent history from repeating itself?

My Review

This is the author's debut novel and to be totally honest, I thought it showed. Sometimes you read a debut that is just so well written that you can't believe the author is new to the task. In this case, I felt that the writing wasn't quite as polished as some other debuts that I've read this year.

Before turning his hand to creative writing, the author was a lawyer in private practice specialising in corporate and commercial litigation and employment law. I'm not sure if that perhaps led to a more formal writing style, but I felt like the writing didn't flow quite as easily as it should, especially in the first half of the book. I found it a tad forced. I also found some of the dialogue a little bit off, and at times I found myself thinking that people just wouldn't say that to each other, or wouldn't interact with each other in the way described.

Okay, so enough about that. On the positive side, I did enjoy Charlie Priest and his character. He was definitely weird and more than a little bit unusual, which I liked. I probably wouldn't be far wrong in describing him as a bit of a misfit actually. He has a brother in a mental institution, who is there for committing some serious crimes, and it almost seems as if mental instability runs in the family. So, Charlie seems a little bit different. I liked that. This, coupled with the strange crimes he is investigating, involving some disbursing forms of death, and the insertion of a mayfly into the throats of certain victims, makes for a really good read.

I enjoyed this story, I really loved how different and odd many of the characters were, and despite my criticisms above, I would read the next book in the series as I believe that Charlie Priest has a lot of potential, as do a few of the peripheral characters. I'll also be interested to see how the author develops in terms of his writing style.

In fairness, I feel that I must mention that I have read a number of reviews of this book, none of which have mentioned the writing issues that I mention above. So, it might just be me, and you shouldn't be put off reading the book because of my feelings. I can only express honestly how I felt and the thoughts I had while reading the book. It would seem that many other readers had no problem at all with the writing style.

Overall, an entertaining read that I enjoyed, and I look forward to the next one in the series.

PS, the South African cover is different to the one in the picture in that the primary colours are white and pink, and not blue.

My Rating: * * *

Publication Date: July 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Crime Thriller

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: My own purchased copy.