Is this book a dynamic thriller? No. Is this book a gripping page turner? No.
It is however an utterly believable and brilliant slow-burning thriller.
In 'We begin at the end' we, the reader, explore the lives and actions of a small group of people in a small town in America, and how their decisions and morality echo through the story and the years affecting everyone's lives and developing into a interconnected story and a real connection to the characters.
I started off uncertain about the pace at the beginning but by the end I absolutely loved the way the story had progressed and twisted and finished full circle.
This is a fairly dark book following the lives of 2 children growing up in tragic circumstances, and life just doesn't cut them a break. They are brought up by people suffering their own traumas or causal cruelty of lives not lived to plan, and even the role-models are slowly revealed to be flawed.
This book won't be for everyone but I urge everyone to stick with it, as it is thought provoking, dark and well rounded, with different twists that I genuinely didn't know how it would end until I had reached the end.
It's hard writing a review without hinting at the plot, but I'm steering away from it and the characters as much as I can, because the discovery and journey Chris Whittaker has written is worth reading for yourselves.
(I also liked the author including points of discussion in his notes at the back, that reinforce the tale and points of contention that this novel touches upon).
It is however an utterly believable and brilliant slow-burning thriller.
In 'We begin at the end' we, the reader, explore the lives and actions of a small group of people in a small town in America, and how their decisions and morality echo through the story and the years affecting everyone's lives and developing into a interconnected story and a real connection to the characters.
I started off uncertain about the pace at the beginning but by the end I absolutely loved the way the story had progressed and twisted and finished full circle.
This is a fairly dark book following the lives of 2 children growing up in tragic circumstances, and life just doesn't cut them a break. They are brought up by people suffering their own traumas or causal cruelty of lives not lived to plan, and even the role-models are slowly revealed to be flawed.
This book won't be for everyone but I urge everyone to stick with it, as it is thought provoking, dark and well rounded, with different twists that I genuinely didn't know how it would end until I had reached the end.
It's hard writing a review without hinting at the plot, but I'm steering away from it and the characters as much as I can, because the discovery and journey Chris Whittaker has written is worth reading for yourselves.
(I also liked the author including points of discussion in his notes at the back, that reinforce the tale and points of contention that this novel touches upon).