Review: Writing Par Excellence, but With a Flaw
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2011
Take No MoreBy Seb KirbyKindle ASIN B004EYUH9C, $2.99Take No More by Seb Kirby is a wonderful book by a promising author. From the first pages Take No More held me enthralled and it delivered on every promise it made. It is a rich story set in a complex tapestry of characters and settings. It is the tale of a man whose wife dies unexpectedly in his arms, a victim of a murder. Determined to find her killer he sets off across Europe in a race against time to find her killer. Along the way the story takes more than a few unexpected turns as the writer goes draws you further and further into a world of art theft, drug dealers, toxic waste dumping, sexual slavery and mob bosses. It is a tale of murder and intrigue and it is artfully told.My only complaint about Take No More is that twice it managed to break the suspension of disbelief necessary to fiction. Both incidents involved the name of one of the main characters. In the first instance it was a simple misspelling - a case where obviously the writer had been so caught up in telling his story that his fingers had simply moved to fast. This mistake was easy to overlook, as were minor grammar errors, but what really threw me for a loop was when, near the end of the book, the writer got the name of one of the main characters completely wrong. I was so upset I couldn't believe it! Who forgets the name of one of the main characters after telling most of the story? I was stunned. All I could think about for the next couple of chapters was how the writer had forgotten the name of one of the most important characters in the book.But having said that, I have to add that Take No More is an absolutely stunning thriller from a new author, I can't remember the last murder mystery I read that was so good. It was intricate, rich in setting and details and in part based on some really fascinating facts. I thought it was excellent and I can honestly guarantee that I will re-read it at some point in the future and will treasure my copy with the error in it because when it comes time for a re-release, which given the excellence of this story I'm certain will happen, I will have one of the priceless originals with the error intact.Well done Mr. Kirby, I applaud your brilliant story-telling.