The Murderer's Apprentice - S.Gary Sangha - Book Review

 

                There are instances when we tread unfamiliar areas. This was one such book. I selected this book only because I found the title interesting. Net Galley provided me with a soft copy of the book. And I got to read this without any preconceived notions of the story.

                Karl is the son of a single mother. His father was killed in action during the war. After that, his mother succumbs to drugs and supplements her habit with money from prostitution. Things are not better in school as well where he gets bullied by Jack Fisher. There has been news of young women being murdered and Karl suspects his elusive neighbour, Harris. Harris who is the killer sees Karl as a potential apprentice whom he can train to kill. He is looking for an opportunity to subdue Karl. Will Karl be able to stay clear of Harris? Are Karl and his mother really safe from him? Was Karl able to trap the killer? forms the story.

                As I told earlier, I had no opinions or thoughts before reading this book. It did start slowly and I really wondered how the story was going to proceed. But around 10 to 15 pages into the story, I started getting involved in the book. The reading was very fast-paced and exciting. The whole narration proceeds in a first-person fashion which keeps the pace steady. There were only a handful of characters that were given as much depth as required for the story. Even though there was not much suspense in the story, it did keep me biting my nails as to how this was going to turn out. The language was pretty simple and effective. The author talked about a lot of issues like how bullying and drug abuse can harm one's life and the people surrounding them. The first-person narrative was impactful in that aspect. There was no unwanted stretching in the story and the length was apt. But still, there was some lag at places like at the start and towards the middle which did slow me down a bit. Also, there were some unanswered questions in the story which did not make sense.

                In short, this was a surprisingly good and quick read. People who like a quick thriller will enjoy this book. I personally enjoyed the book except for some lags at certain places. Thanks to Net Galley for a copy of the book.