A thriller that stands out in its own genre
Imagine scenes taken straight out of your favourite mafia movie. Picture secret cartels, trafficking, drugs and abusive powerful men. And then add a twist to it. Something unexpected. It´s like reality meets fiction in the book The Sicilian favour, or? Cause sometimes I wonder if some of the brilliant parts are inspired from the writer’s own life.
What I really liked about The Sicilian favour was the strong female characters and some new and interesting elements you normally don´t find in a criminal fiction. It makes it stand out among the vast number of books in its own genre. You can almost feel the writer’s curiosity for alternative lifestyles, cultural differences and ongoing issues regarding some social classes. It is a long read, but it is full of excitement, leads and some pitfalls you might fall into trying to guess the outcome. Exciting is what it is!
As a reader, one gets to follow a few different characters point of view throughout the whole book. All with different problems to face. A policeman’s hardship facing horrible crimes, the victims fright or the forced to-be-a-criminal, people who once was just like you and me. Like anyone until they got forced into a criminal underworld. To stay afloat or without a choice. Trying to protect their loved ones. Meet the wanted woman in disguise, her whole life circulating about trying to hide from the beast of a man. A past haunting her despite a memory loss that might prove to be crucial.
Trying not to give away too much, here is one of the characters that intrigued me the most. It’s like a glimpse into history with a twist of its own. A time of rebellion and violence in the past leads to a new chapter in Australia for a Greek family. But you can´t rewrite history, only deny it and try to hide it. And staying concealed from the Mafia is a task of lifelong secrets. One gets a feeling of the old-fashioned look on women in the Greek culture in contrast to the modern and independent woman in today’s Australian society. A new chapter to be written, one that takes us down some dark roads. But with an unexpected crossing and an unknown destination, it sure is a thrilling journey for the reader!