Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Terry Reviews The Jack Lockwood Diaries by @GeoffreyDWest

Today we have a review from team member Terry, she blogs at http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry has been reading The Jack Lockwood Diaries by Geoff West

The Jack Lockwood Diaries by Geoff West

4 out of 5 stars

Twenty-two stories from Geoff West’s jolly nice, slightly bumbling and Jonathan Creek-esque hero, Jack Lockwood, all set in a village near Canterbury in Kent.

When you start reading something by Geoff West you know it will be intelligently written and well edited with some clever turns of phrase, with no sentences that make you think ‘ouch!’ – and that’s always a good starting point.

The first few in this collection are ghost stories, followed by crime/mystery and finishing up with a few of a lighter type. I thought the crime/mystery ones were the most well put together, and by far the best is Leaving It All Behind, which I thought could have been very nicely developed into at least novelette length. The author is very good at creating atmosphere, so much that I actually wouldn’t have minded being holed up in that little country pub during the snow storm…. his characters are very clearly defined, sometimes in an almost pantomime like way, but this is all in keeping with the whole Jack Lockwood scenario of not too serious crime solving in an idyllic part of England that comes straight from a BBC Sunday evening drama.

Some stories I felt could have been developed more; they were more situations than proper stories, and I’d turn the page thinking there was more to come only to find the beginning of the next one, but the writing was still entertaining and on the whole I’d say that if you’re a short story fan of these genres, reading The Jack Lockwood Diaries is a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

The book ends with the first chapter of Geoff West’s latest novel, Sheer Fear – a better opening for a crime drama you couldn’t find!

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com