Review by Disquisitive -- Shifting Sands

[Disquisitive]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Shifting Sands" by Barry Litherland.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Shifting Sands by Barry Litherland is a suspensful mystery thriller. The main character, a journalist named Phil, hears of a strange sighting in the middle of the night by one of his friends near a mysterious house. Phil finds his friend’s story intriguing enough that he starts investigating, thinking it may make for an interesting article for the newspaper at which he works. At first, the investigation appears to be a dead end; there is very little information available about that house. Then, as Phil and several friends investigate further, it seems that something sinister is indeed happening. At this point, Phil and his friends could be in danger. Can they uncover what is going on and live to tell the tale?

This book was captivating and kept me hooked. While reading, it felt very much like a delicious mix of a modern-day gothic suspense and a hard-boiled mystery novel. The end result is a book that is appealing to a wide range of readers, as the hard-boiled aspects are toned down to a more accessible level.

What I liked most about Shifting Sands was that the suspense never stopped. There was always something happening or about to happen, with the result that I was never bored. Besides the excellent plotting, I also enjoyed the way in which the characters each had their own distinct characteristics and manner of speech. Author Barry Litherland had clearly put a lot of effort into the characterization, with the result that the reader can easily distinguish between the different characters at any moment without having to resort to flipping back to earlier pages. I also enjoyed the writing. The descriptions, action, and dialogue felt natural and flowed beautifully.

There was only one thing I disliked about this outstanding book. Winston, a friend of the main character, felt somewhat unbelievable to me as a character. While Winston was quirky and complex, some of his characteristics seemed so much in conflict with one another that I struggled to believe that such a person could exist in real life. Instead, he seemed a little like a caricature to me. This is a minor criticism and one which may be specific to me and not to other readers.

Shifting Sands will appeal to a wide range of readers due to it residing solidly within several genres: mystery, thriller, and suspense. It is set in the present day and involves current technology, yet is written in a timeless style which will appeal to readers of both classic and modern detective fiction. Readers of all genres of suspense will enjoy it too, since the plot twists and turns a lot. Although I would class it as general suspense rather than domestic suspense, fans of domestic suspense will also enjoy it because the story is told from the perspective of the main character’s everyday life. There is no element of the supernatural in the book, although that is not clear from reading the blurb. Therefore, this book would not appeal to those seeking to read a supernatural thriller. Readers should be aware that there is some coarse language in the dialogue depending on which character is speaking, although it is in keeping with that character. These instances are only occasional and are less than the amount typically seen in a hard-boiled detective novel, because the main character uses clean language and the story is told from his point of view.

I rate Shifting Sands by Barry Litherland 4 out of 4 stars because I found it gripping throughout. There were no unwanted distractions. The writing flowed beautifully, the plot hooked the reader in with plenty of action, and the book was extremely well edited.

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Shifting Sands
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