Shades of Grey – Michael Cargill

Started – 23/5/12

Finished – 30/5/12

Format – Kindle e-book

Synopsis – John is not a very nice man. He works for the government. So who has tied him to a chair and what do they want?

James is a British soldier during WWII. Tom is a young boy with a terrible secret.

Three stories. Three very different people. All of them battling to survive.

My Thoughts – I won this book in a givaway from the lovely Becky at her blog a few weeks back. Now before i start I’m just going to state that this is not a book like the one that has a very simular name.

This book is a collection of three short stories, and as the synopsis above states, the main theme through the book is survival. I did think that it was war to start with, but the last story really didnt fit the theme.

The first book in the collection was Shades of Grey. This is about a man called Jack, who we find tied to a chair. His thoughts go from the present, being surrounded by people with sniper rifles, and going back to the past where he found his wife in bed with his neighbour. I liked how these two halfs of the story fitted together and it really worked for me.

The second book in the collection was There and Back Again, I just couldnt get The Hobbit referance out of my head all through this story! However in my opinion this was the best story out of the three. This is about James, a foot-soldier during the first world war in France in the trenches. In this he faces his first battle and kills a man for the first time. I liked the emotion behind it and how he still had time to write home to his mum and dad back in England.

The final book in the collection was Down the Rabbit Hole, the title for me reminded me of Alice in Wonderland a little bit. This book is about a little boy called Tom who has a toy rabbit called Borger. He gets abused by his father and is unhappy. Now the bunny starts to talk to him and gets him to do quite horrible things if I’m honest. I didnt like this story at all, I’m not a fan of horror books and for me this is exactly what it was. I am a little uncomfortable to read about a little boy doing all those horrible things.

Now the book as a whole. I enjoyed this book, but to be honest it isnt one of my favourites. I liked the first two stories, but the third for me really put me off. I also thought that it was very gorey in places, which for me at least does put me off a little.

I would recommend this book for people that like crime/thriller/horror books, but for me the last story didnt hook me in as the others did.

Rating – 3/5