Summers of Shadows, Bodies and Bridges

 This historically set trilogy is packed full of small twists and clever turns; and the central characters are fully developed and highly interesting.

The story basically follows a small number of characters growing up in the 1950s. There is a gripping adventure in all three of the books, but, in many ways, this is not a plot-led story. It’s all in the characters. And all of the characters – even many of the secondary – literally jump off the page.  

The author has his characters talk in a way that is fitting to the time, but, thankfully, it is always understandable, and, as such, only adds to the story.

In many ways, this set of books is an ode to the ‘good old days’; and I suspect the author remembers them with relish, and not a little yearning. As he says in the intro, ‘before there were cell phones and an internet…of a time when a full, hot meal at school cost a quarter’. But, although ‘history’ is a vital part of the story, the author also understands how important it is not to just simply describe the ‘historical’ setting but, rather, have the characters interact with it in a natural and unobtrusive way. Many authors, who set a book in a different century, seem determined to describe every silver spoon and every woolen tunic. Thankfully, this author has not fallen into that trap.  

I was particularly impressed by the style of writing in many ways. Many authors tend to describe setting and characters in hefty lumps of text, particularly in historical texts. But this can kill the pacing. Thankfully, this author is wise to this, cleverly mixing up speech, fun happenings and the describing of character and setting. Subsequently, the writing

felt light and not at all like wading through cauliflower-cheese. And, where there is description, it is imaginatively written.

To sum up, this is a gem of a trilogy. Most readers, particularly men, will find it gripping; the sort of books to get lost in; the sort of books where every character is the sort of character you wish lived on your own street. Also, I suspect, many will find this story helps them to reflect on family, the simplicity of youth and old school pals lost in time. It’s the sort of story you recommend to a pal; that gets tatty corners as it’s read so much.