A review by karteabooks
Urban Scarecrows by Jim Chambers

slow-paced

4.0

 

When the Labour Party take a landslide victory in the 2019 general election, people are looking forward to a new way of life, less austerity, an end to penny pinching and less debt. Little do they really know about what is going to happen.

The new government rapidly change the country into a British form of totalitarian Marxism, in its quest for social justice and equality. Taking a high-profile celebrity chef along for the ride, and this is whose point of view the book is written from.

 

A story of human emotions and frailties: love and hate; lust and betrayal; cowardice and bravery; cruelty and kindness; rejections and reunion; death and renewal.

 

Thank you to Literally PR for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

 

There is a lot of political language within this book, and I found myself reading this book with Google open to research some of the language, and although this didn’t detract away from the storyline, I did find it a little cumbersome at the start. Once I had overcome this however, I did begin to engage with the characters. This is a book where you must be prepared to take a side, and the author does a pretty good job of making you really think about whose side you want to be on.

 

Several times I wanted to give Dominic, the main character, a good shake and try to help him take some responsibility for his actions, and to witness first-hand the repercussions of these. I was less armoured with Rosa, his wife and the way that the author extenuated her consonants…’godddd’, I must admit did grate on me towards the end...

 

This is not an easy or light-hearted read, it’s a thought-provoking book, and with the current political turmoil that is gripping the UK and the conflicts around the world, - from government politics, war, climate change, unemployment, through to the cost-of-living crisis and beyond, it felt quite close to home at times. 

 

This is a book that I would recommend to fans of John Le Carre, Robert Harris and Ken Follett. As I mentioned above, it’s not a light-hearted book, but what it is is a thought provoking, political thriller that will leave you with far more questions than answers.