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A review by billymac1962
Distant Sons by Tim Johnston
5.0
Ever since devouring Descent and The Current, I had been waiting on baited breath for Tim Johnston's next release.
Finally it happened in October, and while I was excited to read it, I was hesitant to because that would mean that the sooner I read it, the longer I'd have to wait until his next one!
But you know, I could get hit by a bus before getting to it, so there's my decision: better sooner than later. I need to adopt this philosophy for some other authors as well...
I'm so glad I did because the quality of writing and story and characters are just as top tier as they were in Descent (which was my favourite of his previous two by a slim margin).
And once again his works are grossly underappreciated here on Goodreads. Look at any of the nominees for "best" Mystery/Thriller here for most years and you'll find the vastness of over-hyped, trope-laden mediocrity that saturates the genre.
Tim Johnston doesn't resort to tropes. He creates very real characters in believable stories, and he is just literary enough to nudge into literary fiction without having the narrative weighted down, and this is offset by a considerable amount of engaging dialogue.
I can't think of another author who strikes this balance as well as he does. And he does it with every novel.
Why his novels aren't even considered as nominees for best Mystery/Thriller or even best Fiction is one of the reasons I barely bat an eye at these so-called awards every year. It's really a popularity contest, basically what most people read. An algorithm could easily cull more accurate results by ratings per readers alone.
On the other hand, inexplicably, his average ratings are under 4.00. What the heck is wrong with you people? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
I love this guy's books, and he is one of those authors who truly shines during the quieter parts of his novels. Something as simple as a guy meeting a woman's father. Two guys having a chat in a truck. I was riveted to simple conversations.
Maybe I'm going overboard here, but there you have it. One of my favourite authors and he as delivered again just in time to make Distant Sons one of my top reads of the year.
I never like to go into plots but if you loved Descent, you will love this. It centers around a young tradesman who's a stranger in town, who meets up with another stranger, also a tradesman, and they take on a reno for a local man. Of course there is history surrounding the town, the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of three young boys forty years ago.
His pacing was excellent as I've implied and I was very sad to finish it. But he's a young (younger than me, anyway) writer, and as long as he keeps writing I will have great books to look forward to for many years to come.
But hey, read this guy. He is woefully under-read and under-rated.
Obviously five stars.
Finally it happened in October, and while I was excited to read it, I was hesitant to because that would mean that the sooner I read it, the longer I'd have to wait until his next one!
But you know, I could get hit by a bus before getting to it, so there's my decision: better sooner than later. I need to adopt this philosophy for some other authors as well...
I'm so glad I did because the quality of writing and story and characters are just as top tier as they were in Descent (which was my favourite of his previous two by a slim margin).
And once again his works are grossly underappreciated here on Goodreads. Look at any of the nominees for "best" Mystery/Thriller here for most years and you'll find the vastness of over-hyped, trope-laden mediocrity that saturates the genre.
Tim Johnston doesn't resort to tropes. He creates very real characters in believable stories, and he is just literary enough to nudge into literary fiction without having the narrative weighted down, and this is offset by a considerable amount of engaging dialogue.
I can't think of another author who strikes this balance as well as he does. And he does it with every novel.
Why his novels aren't even considered as nominees for best Mystery/Thriller or even best Fiction is one of the reasons I barely bat an eye at these so-called awards every year. It's really a popularity contest, basically what most people read. An algorithm could easily cull more accurate results by ratings per readers alone.
On the other hand, inexplicably, his average ratings are under 4.00. What the heck is wrong with you people? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
I love this guy's books, and he is one of those authors who truly shines during the quieter parts of his novels. Something as simple as a guy meeting a woman's father. Two guys having a chat in a truck. I was riveted to simple conversations.
Maybe I'm going overboard here, but there you have it. One of my favourite authors and he as delivered again just in time to make Distant Sons one of my top reads of the year.
I never like to go into plots but if you loved Descent, you will love this. It centers around a young tradesman who's a stranger in town, who meets up with another stranger, also a tradesman, and they take on a reno for a local man. Of course there is history surrounding the town, the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of three young boys forty years ago.
His pacing was excellent as I've implied and I was very sad to finish it. But he's a young (younger than me, anyway) writer, and as long as he keeps writing I will have great books to look forward to for many years to come.
But hey, read this guy. He is woefully under-read and under-rated.
Obviously five stars.