Published: May 28th 2008
Publisher: Michael O’Mara Books
Pages: 379
Format: Book
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars
Detective Miles Jensen is called to the lawless town of Santa Mondega to investigate a spate of murders. This would all be quite ordinary in those rough streets, except that Jensen is the Chief Detective of Supernatural Investigations. The breakneck plot centers around a mysterious blue stone — The Eye of the Moon—and the men and women who all want to get their hands on it: a mass murderer with a drinking problem, a hit man who thinks he’s Elvis, and a pair of monks among them. Add in the local crime baron, an amnesiac woman who’s just emerged from a five-year coma, a gypsy fortune teller, and a hapless hotel porter, and the plot thickens fast. Most importantly, how do all these people come to be linked to the strange book with no name? This is the anonymous, ancient book that no one seems to have survived reading. Everyone who has ever read it has been murdered. What can this mean?
The Book With No Name, by Anonymous. The title alone made me pick this book up from a book sale and while it wasn’t the greatest book I have read, it was creative, interesting, and definitely unique.
This is the first book in a series called The Bourbon Kid, and I have to say, while I wouldn’t rush out to get the sequels, if I came across them I would read them. Maybe if I leave it long enough my curiosity will peak and I will track down a sequel and see what happens next, but for now I am enjoying that it was a rather good story.
As soon as the story begins we are introduced to the mystery that is the Bourbon Kid, this prologue starts the novel off as the mystery and foreboding doom this man brings haunts a town. Meanwhile, Detective Miles Jensen has arrived in town to investigate a spate of unusual murders, two monks have left their monastery, a mysterious blue stone begins to cause havoc for all those who wish to possess it, there is also a hitman in town who thinks he is Elvis, an amnesiac woman who has woken from a coma, the boyfriend, and the local crime boss. What could possibly go wrong?
There are a lot of people involved in this narrative, and the author switches character perspectives quite a bit so we get to see the story from everyone’s perspective. I’d say seamlessly but I say with caution. Certainly there are no jarring moments, but you can find yourself reading a new paragraph and become confused, only to realise that you’re following a new character with different thoughts.
These switches occur a lot, and truly not always in a confusing manner, but you do have to pay attention and you will get used to it after awhile. I did find, which was quite clever, that because there were so many characters and storylines to follow, by breaking it up for each character and moment you get these kinds of mini scenes, almost like a collection of short stories which are connected to one another in terms of the bigger picture and have been woven together.
In terms of narrative it was drawn out considerably. Not a lot actually happens for the first 3/4 or so of the book, however you did have a sense that it was all necessary by the time you’ve finished. As you read you kept thinking that the next chapter would be where it all erupted and everything fell into place. This does happen in the end but it is a lot to remember and keep track of while you’re getting there. A lot of it was also character introductions, having so many people involved it does start to fill up pages. And while we never get any real back story or history on a lot of the characters, you are provided with a clear representation of their personality and character that eliminates a need for a history to understand them.
Surprisingly with so many characters in play you do not get lost which I thought was amazing, but you do have more people to become potential suspects in whatever is going on which does your head in if you try and figure it out on your own. Of course everyone basically in this novel is suspicious, as well as guilty of many a thing, but whether they are guilty of what you think they are is where the mystery lies.
I will give credit to the author, I liked the reveal when it came, and I liked that after such a long wait the ending was ideal. I didn’t think that anything had been wrapped up quickly, all the pieces suddenly fell into place and started to make perfect sense, just when you didn’t think there could possibly be a reason and connection for everything. That part was rather impressive.
There is violence in this book, but while describing scenes of death and brutality I didn’t find myself revolted or turned off. I put this down to clever writing and the ability to tell a gruesome scene without having to go in explicit detail which can push it into the grotesque and unreadable. But yes, be warned there is a large amount of violence in the book, and swearing, but swearing goes with the setting of the novel, whereas the violence goes with the narrative.
One way around the amount of violence is the supernatural element, not an overbearing amount, but it is there and, like everything and everyone, it is connected as well. It was worrying in the beginning when the possibility was first brought up because I was unsure how it would fit within the established narrative, but as more information was revealed it turned out alright, and you begin to accept that this is just how it is, and you do not spend a lot of time focused on these supernatural elements. This could be because there are so many extreme moments and aspects of unrealism that the extra dose does not really make that much difference.
Two of my favourite quotes, both obscure and seem rather bizarre, but like the book there are plenty of sentences and aspects of dialogue that feel awkward but not enough to be a real concern.
“He had been shot in the stomach at point blank range by a man toting a double barrel shotgun. It had hurt terribly, and the wound was still bleeding a little, but it would heal. His wounds always healed, although he had come to accept the fact that gunshots did tend to leave a mark.”
“Audrey had no tolerance for mess, but today there was blood everywhere.”
It is these kinds of sentences that make this book charming amongst its faults, quirky lines that seem obvious and almost unworthy of comment, yet it is provided anyway. Some of the phrasing seems a bit awkward but over the course of the book you do not really notice it after awhile, the story gets you in, despite the ambiguity and prolonged revelations.
Finally, we must briefly mention the title and author. I loved that it was mysterious and when I finished the book I loved it even more. I will say no more about it.
Welcome to Santa Mondega, enjoy the ride.
Dear Reader,
