4 out of 4 stars
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Guilt by David Taylor Black is a thrilling and action-packed mystery book full of twists and turns that are sure to keep the reader on edge.
As the story begins, the reader is immediately thrown into the middle of a violent and disturbing crime. Black skillfully changes the reader’s point of view to help ensure they have a very detailed and unique perspective on this critical situation. As the novel shifts to the main character, Dan, and his perspective, the reader is met with a glaringly contradictory character in a contradicting situation. Dan, who is married but separated, is in the beautiful Bahamas conveniently named “Hope Town”. His visit, however, is right in the middle of hurricane season, and Dan is attempting to write about the very grim cholera outbreak. When he inadvertently stumbles upon a murdered victim’s body, he becomes trapped in a swirling vortex of the town’s chaos.
One of the greatest aspects of this book is the author’s ability to put the reader directly into the character’s shoes. It’s so easy to become lost and consumed in the character’s thoughts, and you can really empathize with each character’s motivations.
Do you ever get the feeling that something is off about someone or something, but you just can’t place your finger on it? Observant readers will enjoy picking up on subtle foreshadowing, clues to the mystery, and small details that might be overlooked due to the character’s lack of focus on them.
This book has some aspects that are particularly dark. Dan, who visits the cholera cemetery nearly every day, once comments about how these victims were “with time, forgotten as individuals.” I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone who struggles with depression or dislikes such nihilistic viewpoints. There are also some graphic parts of the novel that wouldn’t be appropriate for younger audiences. I would, however, recommend this book for anyone who has experienced abuse by a psychopath.
One of the characters has a near-sociopathic ability to manipulate situations, feign emotions, lie, steal, and disregard other’s feelings. The charade this character creates is very reminiscent of real-world psychopathic abuse, but these serious topics are tackled in a fictional scenario in this book. It can be helpful for victims to see how easily it is to fall into believing the shams of a disordered individual.
I rate Guilt 4 out of 4 stars. The characters are dynamic, the story is intriguing but calculated, and the writing appears to be professionally edited. I would read this book again!
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Guilt
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