With the recent release of Grant McKenzie's book, Switch, the Sunshine Coast can claim another stellar author in its midst.
A rip-snorting, page-turning, suspense novel, McKenzie's first book is not for the faint of heart.
It begins with a murder with a twist and immediately the reader is engaged. And right from the first page this modern-day morality story will have you squirming with questions you don't want to answer - What would I do to save my family? And just when does the end justify the means?
But lest you think the story is all doom and gloom, such is not the case. McKenzie builds real characters with real foibles and using great dark humour, he manages to lighten the story. If ever you had a life dream that didn't quite make it you'll be able to identify with McKenzie's Sam, a good guy who seems to be crapped on continually.
Set in Portland, Oregon, the best part of McKenzie's writing is his ability to paint word pictures. You can actually picture the people and the surroundings. And as a lifelong claustrophobic the description of the underground area where some of the victims are being held gives me the creeps even now. And that's just one of the 'oh my god' moments in the book.
There are many things I liked about this book, the pithy dialogue, the build-up of the action and most of all the sense of reality about the story. As much as most of us don't like to think about it there are broken people in this world with warped consciences. And in this book I think McKenzie manages to spin a plausible yarn about just such a creature.
In all honesty, I must say that this the most violent book I've ever read, but sadly none of the violence seems gratuitous, a telling comment about our society. And while the cringe factor is high in some of the actions, I still wanted to find out just how this story would end.
One of the cleverest things about this book is that with very little change it would make an exciting movie. I can't help thinking that given Mel Gibson's latest descent into hell he'd make an excellent bad guy, shave his head and you have the antagonist for the movie.
Available now in Canada, check local book stores or order it in at Talewind Books in Sechelt for a quick delivery.
Kudos to McKenzie for making a highly readable tale out of some pretty grim material, I predict great things for this author.
