Summers of Shadows Bodies and Bridges: The Pompey Hollow Book Club Series: BOOK2

This historically set trilogy is packed full of small twists and clever turns; and the central characters are fully developed and highly interesting. The story basically follows a small number of characters growing up in the 1950s. There is a gripping adventure in all three of the books but in many ways this is not a plot-led story. Its all in the characters. And all of the characters - even many of the secondary - literally jump off the page. The author has his characters talk in a way that is fitting to the time but thankfully it is always understandable and as such only adds to the story. In many ways this set of books is an ode to the good old days; and I suspect the author remembers them with relish and not a little yearning. As he says in the intro before there were cell phones and an internet...of a time when a full hot meal at school cost a quarter. But although history is a vital part of the story the author also understands how important it is not to just simply describe the historical setting but rather have the characters interact with it in a natural and unobtrusive way. Many authors who set a book in a different century seem determined to describe every silver spoon and every woolen tunic. Thankfully this author has not fallen into that trap. I was particularly impressed by the style of writing in many ways. Many authors tend to describe setting and characters in hefty lumps of text particularly in historical texts. But this can kill the pacing. Thankfully this author is wise to this cleverly mixing up speech fun happenings and the describing of character and setting. Subsequently the writing felt light and not at all like wading through cauliflower-cheese. And where there is description it is imaginatively written. To sum up this is a gem of a trilogy. Most readers particularly men will find it gripping; the sort of books to get lost in; the sort of books where every character is the sort of character you wish lived on your own street. Also I suspect many will find this story helps them to reflect on family the simplicity of youth and old school pals lost in time. Its the sort of story you recommend to a pal; that gets tatty corners as its read so much.