I am thrilled today to be a stop on the blog tour for John Marrs The Good Samaritan. Big thank you to Tracy Fenton for inviting me and to the publisher for providing my review copy.
About this book…
She’s a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her?
The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die.
Laura hasn’t had it easy: she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn’t love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it.
But now someone’s on to her–Ryan, whose world falls apart when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a stranger. Who was this man, and why did they choose to die together?
The sinister truth is within Ryan’s grasp, but he has no idea of the desperate lengths Laura will go to…
Because the best thing about being a Good Samaritan is that you can get away with murder.
My review…
It does take a certain type of person to work on the phone and being able to listen to, as well as extract information from, the caller is quite some feat! I once went to work in a call centre for a holiday company starting off as a customer service advisor in the sales department. But within weeks I had been given a new nickname and it was one that lead to me being moved to the complaints department! Apparently I had a telephone voice that immediately put people at ease, helping to calm angry customers within minutes and so “Mrs Mogadon” was put to work sorting out everyone’s complaints! I’ve never quite been sure whether to have been offended by that nickname or not!!
Anyway, because of that, I was intrigued to discover how John Marrs would utilise Laura’s similar talents on the phone but I have to say that her own particular technique was rather extreme! So be prepared to be taken out of your comfort zone with the latest John Marrs thriller! I was a little worried about the subject matter to begin with but pretty soon I became completely gripped by the many twists and turns of this unsettling storyline.
When I received my copy of The Good Samaritan there wasn’t a book blurb attached so I really did go in blind! That made me realise that I don’t want to talk too much about the plot here as I want everyone to experience this book the same way I did. And I was shocked!! I mean the title The Good Samaritan conjures up a picture of a saintly person delivering good deeds but Laura, unfortunately, was one of the most vile and loathsome protagonists I have ever read about. So it goes to show just how well John Marrs crafts his characters that I actually felt some sympathy at times for this apathetic, morally reprehensible she-devil. In fact, my emotions were all over the place with The Good Samaritan. The narrative never seemed to follow the path that I was expecting it to take so I was constantly on edge awaiting the next shocking plot development. And every time I thought we had got to that final denouement, it just kept on going!!! Like one of those blood-curdling horror movies!!!
The Good Samaritan is a stylish, dark and disturbing “cat and mouse” game that can make you feel uneasy at times due to the highly emotive subject matter but it is a book that you physically won’t be able to put down. It’s gripping and uncomfortable storyline will have you filled with apprehension as the highly original theme races towards the end. Definitely recommended by me!
The Good Samaritan
Meet the author…
John Marrs is a freelance journalist based in London and Northampton. He has spent the past twenty-five years interviewing celebrities from the worlds of television, film and music for numerous national newspapers and magazines. The Good Samaritan is his fourth novel. Follow him on Twitter @johnmarrs1, on Instagram @johnmarrs.author and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/johnmarrsauthor
mychestnutreadingtree 
Love the plot concept!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s very original!
LikeLike