Book Review by Soulla Christodoulou
Welcome and thank you for joining me as I share My Book Love For Glen Peter’s astonishingly realistic crime fiction novel, The Day I Died.
There’s nowhere to hide in this intense, passionate and hard-hitting story which is relentless in its pace, it’s unfolding trauma and tensions and, in places, difficult to escape realities.
Set in Goa, an Indo-Portuguese colony, Peters story is a true thriller filled with romance, injustice, rivalry between gangs and corruption in the police force.
It is heart-breaking and I cried. I cried a lot.
Initially I cried for the main character Ceri who is essentially unloved, uncared for, ignored and used by her mother. She is fifteen years old and finds herself in Goa with her mother who quickly finds a reason to abandon her.
Ceri builds a beautiful friendship with Melita and so her frightening adventure and flirtations with a range of unsavoury characters begins… and ends.
Peters writes with an intensity which leaves you gasping for breath and fills you with dread yet draws you into the story with such a tight grip you cannot escape.
The Day I Died is a story full of passion and yet has some beautifully tender, innocent moments.
Ceri’s character is one of resilience and hope, of believing in better and of seeing the good in others even when there seems to be no hope left. There is a childish naivety about her which is captured perfectly in the prose.
This is a book to be read and discussed and will play over and over in your mind long after you reach the end. This is a definite must read.
Thank you for joining me and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.
With much love, Soulla xxx
