Book Title: The Charter
Genre: Crime Thriller
Pages: 270
Author: Gillian E. Hamer
Date Published: 1 June 2012
Synopsis:
Sarah Morton hopes discovering the truth about the 1859 shipwreck of the Royal Charter will silence the demons of her past.
But, tormented by visions and threats on her life, Sarah fears the ship may claim her as its final victim.
Set along the dramatic and dangerous Anglesey coastline, The Charter is a story of greed and forgiveness -- when the treasures of the past evoke the crimes of today.
Sarah Morton hopes discovering the truth about the 1859 shipwreck of the Royal Charter will silence the demons of her past.
But, tormented by visions and threats on her life, Sarah fears the ship may claim her as its final victim.
Set along the dramatic and dangerous Anglesey coastline, The Charter is a story of greed and forgiveness -- when the treasures of the past evoke the crimes of today.
Review:
The Charter by Gillian HamerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
This is an intriguing thriller. I loved it!
Sarah Morton is a wonderful character. I liked her almost instantly. She is a normal woman, struggling with the death of her father. She is drawn, however, into a mystery when his death turns out to be murder. Can she solve his murder and figure out what his cryptic clues to a treasure mean before the murderer strikes again?
I am sad to say that it has taken me quite a while to get to read this book due to my large reading list. However, once I started to read the story, I struggled to put the book down! I was completely engrossed in this book from beginning to end, although the story started slow but quickly built up speed as it unfolded.There are some very likable characters that join Sarah on her journey. I liked both Detective Sergeant Daniel Buchanan (AKA Danny) and his partner DS Lewis. They are the police officers called in to investigate Sarah's father's murder. I also liked Luke Evan's, Sarah's childhood friend. I also liked Angelina Stewart, an eleven year old who also happens to be a ghost.
The story is set on the Welsh Anglesey coastline which, due to the vivid description given by the author, came to life on the page. There have been many shipwrecks on that coastline over the years. The Charter is a ship that was travelling from Australia to Southampton but, due to bad weather, was wrecked off the coast of Wales. I have been to Wales twice. Once to Brecon Beacons and once to Pwllheli. Both these places are beautiful in completely different ways, but this allowed me to picture the scenes, especially the ones on the cliffs with ease. I loved the mystery and intrigue that kept me guessing for quite a while. The story is told through several points of view, but Sarah, being the main character, has the most say. This book is part treasure hunt and part murder mystery. This is a type of book that I would love to be made into a TV movie. There are several twists and turns that surprised me, as well as a couple of shocking moments that made me gasp. The identity of the murderer was a complete shock, due to the excellent red herring dangled by the author. This book is more like a supernatural thriller, as there is a ghost, but there is a lot of action and danger involved to make this a fast paced read. I reached the end of the book and sat for a while afterwards, thinking about what I had just read. This story has been an emotional roller coaster ride from beginning to end.
Gillian Hamer has written a fantastic supernatural thriller. I love her writing style, her descriptions of the characters and the Welsh coast are very lifelike. The pace of the story is wonderful, even though it started off slowly. I am now looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
I highly recommend this book if you love supernatural, psychological or crime thrillers. - Lynn Worton
View all my reviews
Born in the industrial Midlands, Gillian's heart has always yearned for the wilds of North Wales and the pull of the ocean.
A Company Director for twenty years, she has written obsessively for over a decade, predominantly in the crime genre. She has completed six full length novels and numerous short stories.
After completing a creative writing course, she decided to take her writing to the next level and sought representation. She is a columnist for Words with Jam literary magazine, a regular theatre goer and avid reader across genres.
She splits her time between Birmingham and a remote cottage on Anglesey where she finds her inspiration and takes long walks on deserted beaches with her Jack Russell, Maysie.
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