It is 1976 and Mikey, eight-years-old and street-wise beyond his years, is looking forward to a summer of freedom, roaming the creeks and the mud-flats of Canvey Island. But violent emotions are rumbling beneath the surface, about to destroy all that he thought he knew.
When Mikey’s neighbours, the Freemans, win a great deal of money, the old couple become the targets of a criminal act that leaves Peggy Freeman dead and her husband, Bert thirsting for revenge. Believing that young Mikey’s family is responsible, Bert devises a highly unusual but devastatingly effective form of reprisal. But where does the guilt really lie, and will there be punishment or redemption?
Told from Mikey’s viewpoint with light touches of humour, A Patient Man is a gripping crime novel peopled with believable characters who are drawn inexorably in to a story that explores the effects of greed, money and the human need for retribution.
The Author S. Lynn Scott began her adult life determined to take the theatrical world by storm. The theatrical world, it turned out, wasn’t quite so keen to embrace her as she had expected it would be, and so, nothing daunted, she successfully turned her undoubted talents to Terpsichorean entertainment in dark, exotic places. There she learned that a jewelled bra and a very large feathered fan are no substitutes for a good book and a cheese and Branston Pickle sandwich. Her further youthful adventures are, mercifully, lost in the mists of time and she now lives with suitable decorum in Leicestershire where she writes, insists on directing others who are better at acting than she is, dreams of working for the RSC and then writes some more. “Elizabeth, William…and Me” is her first published novel. There are others waiting nervously in the wings.
A Patient Man by S. Lynn Scott is very short coming in at just 240 pages, but it is definitely one odd little book!
What it's about: It is the 1970s and Mikey is only eight, but he's not your typical eight-year-old. Growing up in a family with a mother that doesn't really care, a dad that's away in London a lot, and a brother and sister that don't really pay him any mind - he has his run of Canvey Island, even skipping school most days. But this doesn't stay the same for long when his older neighbors, the Freemans, win a huge amount of money. They become the victims of a criminal act that leaves the wife dead and the husband wanting revenge. Aiming his sights on Mikey's family, Mr. Freeman comes up with a very special way of trying to bring them down, one that leaves Mikey not very happy. But is Mr. Freeman actually right about who killed his wife?
A Patient Man is definitely a bit of a coming-of-age novel, while also touching on things like greed, revenge, and crime. The mystery of who committed the act that killed Peggy seems like somewhat of a minor plot point compared to what happens after Mr. Freeman initiates his revenge. Who killed Peggy is what starts everything, but the novel is really about so much more.
Reading things from Mikey's POV was very interesting, albeit sometimes frustrating for me. I would have maybe liked to have had at least 1 other viewpoint. The touches of humor in the book caught me off guard a few times, and even though there are very serious themes, I found myself laughing out loud in a few spots. Sometimes even at just how ridiculous something was. Mikey's story really is quite sad though when you think about most of his upbringing, and I really liked how his story evolved in the book as he got older. Note: The book is written from Mikey's POV of what happened, looking back as an adult.
The reason I say A Patient Man is odd is mainly because of the writing style. It was very unique, and I haven't read anything like it that I can compare it to. It almost made things a little confusing for me, and I did get a little lost in the beginning. I also wouldn't necessarily call this book gripping, I wanted to know what would happen, but it didn't keep me glued to the pages like some books do. It's definitely a slow burn that is highly character based/driven.
Song/s the book brought to mind: 7 Years by Lukas Graham
Final Thought: Overall, I was very satisfied with A Patient Man though, and it definitely provided for a very unique reading experience. If you are a fan of character driven novels told in a unique writing style, I would definitely recommend checking this book out. It kind of gave me a bit of The Bird Tribunal vibe although it is not a Scandinavian fiction novel. This book is out now and available for purchase on Amazon!
Thank you to Random Things Tours and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
‘Whatever my father might do to earn his daily bread, much of which was not entirely restricted by the law, he still considered begging another for money as beneath him.’ It is lines like these that make this book a wonderful read; full of humour yet also filled with tragically things going wrong. Mikey looks back on the most painful period in his life, yet he is not bitter. He wants revenge for what has been done to him and his family, yet he can find it in himself to forgive. The book makes you alternatively smile, giggle or a little sad. It makes you realize that it is not always possible to live your life as you would want to, that you need to go through a difficult time to get what you want. And even that may not always be what you thought you would like to have.
Thank you Netgalley and Troubadour for a digital copy of this book.
Solid, hard-hitting tale from Scott about the effects of an elderly couple's winning the football pools and the tragic consequences of an attempted kidnapping and ransom demand. The title character is the husband who decides for himself that one neighboring family must have been responsible for the crime and sets in motion a plan to seek revenge. The story is told from the viewpoint of the young son who has now grown and is thinking back about all that happened. Strong writing and a sympathetic narrator carry the story to the inevitable ending. Had never heard of the book or author so thanks to Bandit for the recommendation. 3.5 stars bumped to 4 for the writing and ending, although someone needs to teach the author and editor the proper use of commas. Recommended.
Surprisingly decent read this turned out to be, the latest in a series of randomly found yet very similar quiet slow boiling British dramas centered on crimes. The crime here is murder, but the story is about revenge, the slow simmering strategic kind. And also this is a coming of age story, the protagonist is a nine year old kid from a low class (ok, quite trashy really and potentially criminally inclined) family in a small seaside island (only at high tide) community. Mikey (don’t call him Michael) is a rough kid, but smart and perceptive, balanced as such by both nurture and nature. When a neighbor’s wife gets kidnapped and eventually found dead, the police has no clue, but the neighbor is convinced Mikey’s family is at fault, so he decides to kill them with kindness or more accurately give them enough rope to hang themselves by bestowing a large sum of money on each person, with exception of Mikey who gets to have posh education instead. Of course, the money rips the family apart as they engage in various pursuits suddenly available to them after a lifetime of privation. And Mikey isn’t particularly thrilled to have his old life taken away from him. But life goes on as the old neighbor patiently waits for his revenge. It’s a very quiet dense meticulously plotted story (for such a small book especially), a proper heavy drama with a murder mystery (and even an ending plot twist) thrown in, albeit mostly it’s a meditation on the nature, meaning and value of revenge and as such makes for a very interesting read. All the mores and moralities. Thanks Netgalley.
"If you ask me, the road to hell is most definitely paved with good intentions."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Troubador Publishing Ltd in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>
Written in the first person throughout, Michael recounts events from 1976 when neighbours of his family were robbed and someone died.
I thought this was a really interesting read with a great cast of characters. Mikey (as he was known as a child,) is a bit cheeky, but has a good heart. At age 8 and 9 the way he sees the world and what he views as right and wrong, are at odds with those around him.
The setting of Canvey Island made a nice change to inner city locations and the dialect in the dialogue helps you feel as though you're with young Mikey as events unfold.
This certainly didn't pan out the way I thought it would, but it's better for it. It seems as though sometimes crime can pay, just not in the way you'd want or hope it to.
Oh! How I liked this one. For some reason, I am a sucker for sarcastic, witty, British humor and S. Lynn Scott's writing is just my type of thing. I enjoyed it so much that it took me almost a week to finish it (yes, I take my time when I like a book).
From any angle I look at it, I can't find anything wrong with this story! I wouldn't mind reading more about Michael at boarding school ( like the book Spud by John van de Ruit).
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.
The story is told in first person from the point of view of nine-year-old Mikey. He spends his days exploring the mudflats of Canvey Island, as only a child of certain eras or decades will relate to.
Nowadays building tree houses, climbing walls and spending every minute of non-darkness and free time getting up to mischief is lost to the youth of today. Technology has replaced the natural urge to forage, hunt and explore our surroundings.
Mikey is a child in the 70s and nothing is more enticing than what happens behind the twitching curtains of a neighbours house or tormenting the local animals. Torment in a cheeky way and not in a serial killer way. Just sticking up for Mikey. The majority of us didn't spend our childhoods tormenting animals, although I must admit I did like to make the gaggle of geese in our local neighbourhood honk and hiss. Insider tip: geese are excellent guard dogs.
I have to say I thought this was an excellent read. Scott captures the time period and the essence of small town life, and of course the hierarchy of social status really well. The fact Mikey's family belongs to the lower socio-economic status, translation - common as muck, makes them social pariahs. Not that they are bothered by it.
The assumption of a certain peace and status quo in the street is shattered when an elderly couple wins the lottery. Not long after that a woman disappears, an event that slowly destroys life as Mikey knows it.
The question the reader is left with at the end is whether what happens is in Mikey's best interest. Indeed if you take the criminal element out of it and replace it with a Pygmalion premise the question still remains the same. Does an education, elocution and etiquette replace the need for family and human affection, the need for biological connections.
The other moral dilemma is whether revenge and justice is worth it and worth waiting for.
It's a well-written and plotted compelling crime read with a psychological thriller element to it. I look forward to reading more by this author. *I received a courtesy copy*
Thank you NetGalley and Troubadour Publishing/Matador for the eARC. What a wonderful book, I loved it, a must read! Mikey is an 8-year old who lives on Canvey Island just outside London, roaming free and wild, barely going to school. His mom is always in the pub with her best friend and his Dad is mostly in London, living on the fringes of the crime syndicates, so without supervision, Mikey is having the time of his life, scavenging for coins to buy fuzzy drinks and fast food. Cooking is not one of his pretty mum's talents, she's much better with swear words and clips around the ears. His brother and sister are barely home either, so Mikey is free as a bird and happy. Things change forever when an elderly couple, Bert and Peggy, up the street win an enormous amount of money from the Lotto. A cruel crime leaves Bert tied up all night and Peggy dead. A vengeful Bert eventually manages to rip Mikey's family apart with Mikey's home and freedom gone. I had a few laughs in the beginning of the book and loved Mikey's character; as he's separated from his mum he misses her terribly and manages to see her again with disastrous results. His love for her was heartbreaking, I couldn't help tearing up at one point but the ending of the book was on a hopeful note and made me ponder the value of revenge and what it does to one's psyche. A very insightful mystery that I highly recommend.
There were so many things I loved about this book! There was the matter-of-fact, clear-eyed depiction of poverty, petty crime and family dysfunction in London's East End during the 1970s. There was the quiet but powerful contrast between the heavy Cockney dialogue of Mikey's family and the cultured, highbrow voice of the narrator in his 40s.
Mikey is eight when "the first thing" happens -- a neighbor couple wins an enormous lottery jackpot. Next follows a kidnapping, intended to be for ransom, which goes awry. So far, so predictable. The third and fourth momentous events are surprising, even astonishing, as they occur, yet there is a sense of inevitability when they occur from what we've learned of the characters.
This book was not a thriller, but it was thrilling. It simmered with class tension and greed, and revenge played a huge role,and yet there was a thread of hope hiding throughout the narrative. We were treated to multiple views of each person's character -- Mikey's parents', his neighbors', his half-siblings' and in the end, his benefactors' -- and of the effect of money on each.
I give five stars only to those books I want to read again, and A Patient Man qualifies. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
What an incredible book! It is unlike anything I have ever read before. Told in retrospect from Mikey’s point of view, when he was 8-9 years old, it’s an engrossing story that has much humor but even more pathos. This is a very difficult line to straddle, and the author does so with a deft hand. The writing is very expressive; the pictures painted in the descriptions are extremely vivid. There were times when I felt like I could even smell the salt air in the scene being described. The dialogue is written in the lexicon of the characters, which lends so much authenticity to the plot. I’m someone who likes to read dialogue out loud (if I’m by myself), and the usage of dialect here is extremely effective. The plot itself is straightforward, and told in such a way that even with long paragraphs of exposition, it never gets boring. An extremely unique book that I definitely highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, Troubador Publishing Limited, and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
For a book that is only 195 pages this took me a surprisingly long time to read , probably because I wanted to savour every word. It’s descriptive charm of a time and place captures you from the start.
The author has really evoked what it was like growing up in the 70’s with nosy neighbours twitching behind curtains and kids getting up to mischief .
It showed the workings of a small community and how “a butterfly effect” can totally change the course of history.
Narrated by Mikey both as an adult and a young boy, he is from a family that are classed as “common as muck” and not in keeping with the rest of the community. They are the type of people you wouldn’t want as neighbours but were a joy to read. You will warm to Mikey, neglected and a bit of a scallywag, this is definitely a coming of age story as well as a crime novel.
Personally Mrs B was my favourite, we all know one of these and I’m pretty sure most neighbourhoods have one.
If you want a crime novel with a difference this is one I would really recommend.
This book's opening few chapters grabbed me, but then the pace slowed down until the final quarter of the book, which is part of the reason why it took me a good chunk of time to finish the story.
The setting was described so well that I could picture it clearly, despite not knowing the area well myself. The contrast between the working class and upper class lifestyles was used effectively.
My second book in a row with too much of the dialogue written in an overly phonetic dialect, but it does at least serve a purpose in this book.
What was distracting was that there were a few grammatical errors littered throughout, plus at least one occasion where the wrong character's name is used!
Given that it was written from the perspective of a much older Mikey looking back on his childhood, I would have liked to have learned more about his life now. Otherwise, why choose that point of his adulthood to use as the perspective?
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the loan of the book in exchange for an honest review. A Patient Man by S Lynn Scott is the story of two families who live on Canvey Island in 1976 told through the eyes of an 8 year old boy, Mikey. It is a story of violence and cruelty, neglect and a disparate family.. it started when the Freeman’s won some money on the pools and how 3 unidentifiable assailants kidnapped the elderly wife, who dies before the kidnappehrs can get any money. Then the grieving husband decides to split the money between the four older members of the family knowing they would not be able to cope. It is a strange story told by Mikey, who is sent to a private school for his education funded by Mr Freeman in the hopes that he would be the future. Recommended.
Oh! How I liked this one. For some reason, I am a sucker for sarcastic, witty, British humor and S. Lynn Scott's writing is just my type of thing. I enjoyed it so much that it took me almost a week to finish it (yes, I take my time when I like a book).
From any angle I look at it, I can't find anything wrong with this story! I wouldn't mind reading more about Michael at boarding school ( like the book Spud by John van de Ruit).
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.
Bizarrely I quite liked Mikeys narration,he seemed like he was having a good laugh at most things, YET I really didn't enjoy it when there was actual talking going on..... Interesting idea,that seems familiar. Money doesn't make anyone happy. I think it was an easy guess who the actual murderer was,but entertaining enough finding out for sure. Good ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.