About Me

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Victoria, Australia
I am an author of Young Adult Fiction books. I worked as a teacher in the Pacific Islands for seven years. Whilst in the Solomon Islands I taught PSSC English before the ethnic tension in 2000 forced a change of plans. I love Pacific literature, art and music. You can find me on Facebook at Beth Montgomery Author.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

A Kind of Eden by Amanda Smyth

I listened to this tale as a talking book and the voice of the narrator, played by Lloyd Notice, was just brilliant. I try to listen to talking books when I drive and if I like the resonance of the voice I'll keep listening through to the end (that is if the story is engaging too). Nothing makes me hit the eject button faster than if the reader has an annoying voice.

A Kind of Eden (Serpent's Tail)
So, what's this book about? Essentially it's a crime novel, but it's also full of mid-life crisis angst and the guilt that won't brush off when you betray someone. The hero, Martin, is a fifty-something ex-cop doing an expatriate stint in the Caribbean as an advisor to the Trinidad police. He has found life in Trinidad exotic and has fallen in love with a much younger local girl, Safiya.
Meanwhile Martin's wife and teenage daughter have arranged to come over to Trinidad for a holiday. Martin hides the truth from his family but a serious crime exposes all his deceptions.
Smyth describes the heady aromas of Caribbean food, the squalor of the local villages, the vivid scenery and all the frustrations of culture shock with great clarity.
Although Martin is hard to like at times, the story is engaging because the reader wants to know if justice will be done in the end.

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