The final day of the ‘Brotherhood’ blog tour is upon us, and I have a review to share with you all for my stop today. Many thanks to Sapere Books for the blog tour invite and ARC. Here is my review:
An ex-Marine is forced to confront his troubled past…
Manchester, England, 1998
When Byron Mason’s estranged nephew, Philip, rings him out of the blue in desperate need of help, he knows he must put his personal feelings aside to protect his family.
A teenage boy has been murdered, and Philip is one of the suspects.
Worse than that, the dead boy was the nephew of Ritchie McLaughlin – a local thug who Byron has clashed with in the past – and Philip has now gone missing.
Desperate to clear Philip’s name, Byron enlists the help of his old friend Adam Sterling to track down the real killers.
Is Philip in danger? Can Byron and Adam find him before the police do?
Or has Byron’s violent past with McLaughlin come back to haunt him…?
What does TWG think?
The premise of ‘Brotherhood’ really intrigued me, and the cover of the book didn’t quell that intrigue at all. In fact, the simplistic, dark tone of the image actually made me more eager to delve into the storyline than ever before. Could the room in the image be described in the book? Could the person on the cover end up showing similarities to the characters in the story? I couldn’t wait to find out.
‘Brotherhood’ isn’t my typical sort of read at all. There is A LOT of testosterone in the storyline, and the fact that the book leans more towards males in terms of the characters and violence cements the need for all of that testosterone. That’s not to say that females couldn’t have done what the males in this book did, because they could, and I’m not saying that ‘Brotherhood’ is a book solely for males because again, it isn’t. It just has that vibe to it.
I did enjoy the suspense and gritty nature of David Beckler’s story telling. He certainly knows how to get his readers where he wants them in terms of hook and intrigue. I did find the graphic violence a bit tough to read, not because it wasn’t well written, it was, it was just constant and really uncomfortable at times. I’m not one for action movies and I felt that a large portion of ‘Brotherhood’ showed multiple similarities to the action film genre which wasn’t really my cup of tea. I do like graphic details and violence in the books that I read, I just found it a little too much for me personally.
Putting that aside, there are a lot of turns in many of the characters journeys, especially Phillip’s, and I thought that the suspense surrounding the rollercoaster events was brilliant. I didn’t know which way to turn!! Would Phillip be found? Will Byron deliver on his promise to his brother? So much to sink your teeth into in this book, and I just loved the speed in which David Beckler delivered and maintained those heart racing events.
If you’re after an action packed, intense novel then ‘Brotherhood’ will certainly tick those boxes.
The Writing Garnet 