Book Synopsis:
A toxic family … a fight for survival…
Seventeen-year-old Tyler lives in one of Edinburgh’s most deprived areas. Coerced into robbing rich people’s homes by his bullying older siblings, he’s also trying to care for his little sister and his drug-addict mum.
On a job, his brother Barry stabs a homeowner and leaves her for dead, but that’s just the beginning of their nightmare, because the woman is the wife of Edinburgh’s biggest crime lord, Deke Holt.
With the police and the Holts closing in, and his shattered family in devastating danger, Tyler meets posh girl Flick in another stranger’s house, and he thinks she may just be his salvation … unless he drags her down too.
A pulsatingly tense psychological thriller, Breakers is also a breathtakingly brutal, beautiful and deeply moving story of a good kid in the wrong family, from one of Scotland’s finest crime writers.
Breakers is available now in ebook and paperback. You can purchase your copy of both using the link below.
My Review:
Breakers is an absorbing, thought provoking, gripping book that I really enjoyed.
I’ve always loved Edinburgh and have always though it a beautiful, historical city when I’ve visited it. As with most big cities though it has its dark side full of crime and people in poverty which is the setting of this book. It was quite an eye opener to read what could go on behind the normal everyday view of the city. These are quite vividly described so I felt like I was there watching everything unfold.
The author does a great job of letting the reader see the person behind the crime so that you start understanding the characters a bit more. I had mixed feelings about the main character Tyler. On one hand I hated him for the distress that he causes the people he robs but on the other hand his obvious love for his sister made me warm to him and his interactions with her were some of my favourite in the book. His friendship with Flick also helped me to see his gentle side and I enjoyed watching this develop. It was interesting to see how teenagers can be from very different backgrounds but still have to deal with the same problems.
This was a fast paced, gripping read that I just couldn’t put down as I found I had to know what would happen to the characters. I went through a range of emotions whilst reading feeling angry at the characters, sorry for them and them hopeful that they would make a better life for themselves. There are some passages which whilst quite uncomfortable to read, as they were very realistic, helped create a lot of the tension and atmosphere in the book which made them necessary to what’s happening. I’ve read all of this author’s books and in my opinion he keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to read what his next one.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Orenda books for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Doug Johnstone is an author, journalist and musician based in Edinburgh. He’s had eight novels published, most recently Crash Land. His previous novel, The Jump, was a finalist for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. Several of his other novels have been award winners and bestsellers, and he’s had short stories published in numerous anthologies and literary magazines. His work has been praised by the likes of Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Irvine Welsh. Several of his novels have been optioned for film and television. Doug is also a Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow. He’s worked as an RLF Fellow at Queen Margaret University, taught creative writing at Strathclyde University and William Purves Funeral Directors. He mentors and assesses manuscripts for The Literary Consultancy and regularly tutors at Moniack Mhor writing retreat. Doug has released seven albums in various bands, and is the drummer for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, a band of crime writers. He also reviews books for The Big Issuemagazine, is player-manager for Scotland Writers Football Club and has a PhD in nuclear physics.
Follow him on Twitter @doug_johnstone and visit his website: dougjohnstone.com
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Fab review lovely x
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