The Abattoir of Dreams by Mark Tilbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Read 21/02/2017 to 24/02/2017 Rating 5 stars
Mark Tilbury is an author who has been on my ‘To Read’ list for quite a while so I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read his new release: The Abattoir of Dreams. I was hooked by the synopsis but I also really love the cover and title.
It is very different, but in a good way, and I have never read anything quite like it but I was soon hooked. The book is very well written.
Michael has had a tragic life, one full of heartbreak and the book begins with him waking up in hospital accused of murdering his girlfriend and then attempting suicide as he lays there paralysed with amnesia his childhood comes back to haunt him.
Mark has made an excellent job of building Michael’s character into a realistic portrayal of a child beaten and battered by life who loses everything he loves. While helpless in hospital he finds himself at the mercy of a sadistic policeman and is saved only by his workmate who sets out to uncover the truth.
The book covers many different aspects of abuse and is a horrific portrayal of what life can be like in a children’s home. I would like to believe these things are fiction and don’t happen in real life but unfortunately I honestly believe that this is an accurate picture of the reality of the way orphans can be treated when they have nobody who cares,
This is a gripping and heart-breaking book that is impossible to put down. What could have been a book that was too dark and emotional for some readers has been successfully interlaced with happy heart-warming scenes to make it a brilliant book that will stay with the reader for some time, maybe forever. I especially like the way the book has a ‘proper’ ending and doesn’t leave the reader with a load of unanswered questions.
I will be reading more by this author.
Thank you to Bloodhound Books who provided me with a free copy of this book in return for an honest review
