Sally Bavage writes:
Art is in the eye of the beholder, they say. Or in the view of the forensic scientist called in to investigate a puzzling death. Add in an art history lecturer who is under something of a cloud and some complex fraud. Oh, and death threats. You have an interesting debut novel by Ronnie Brown.
Restless Souls follows the fortunes, if his adventures can be so described, of jaded art history lecturer R I Penny, whose witty exploration of the 'painter' Hertz van Rental didn't amuse management and put him under observation. Add in a mysterious file detailing complex financial transactions he doesn't quite grasp left anonymously in his pigeonhole. Season this mix with some dodgy acquaintances, quite a bit of psychological analysis of painting and its messages, a police investigation that isn't all it seems and an embittered former student who may be stalking our hero. You have a complex narrative that moves along with a cracking pace and some surprising turns of events.
The writing style has echoes of Terry Darlington's Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, or Raymond Chandler's Marlowe. Short sentences, elliptical asides and rapid developments move the story along in short chapters that, rather like Dickens, leave you with frequent cliffhangers.
References to his colleagues at Beckett polyversity are rarely flattering and in a serving member of staff would begin to look like a long letter of resignation. There are one or two plot holes - why blow up a church? Is the love interest to be followed up? And the psychobabble can be a bit overwhelming towards the finale.
However, it is clear that Ronnie Brown knows and loves his artworks, and is a master raconteur. A discussion of this book could lead in many directions!
To buy the book from Waterstones, click here:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/restless-souls/ronnie-brown/9781803780559
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