Sofa Spotlight - Mortom, Erik Therme

Just so you know - I was kindly given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

The basic plot is about a guy called Craig who dies suddenly and unexpectedly and leaves his estate to his cousin Andy on condition that he visits his house within a week of his death. Andy duly arrives with his sister Katy at the start of the story. They’ve not been in the house long before they find a dead rat with a piece of paper stuffed down its throat. And so begins the first clue that Craig has left for Andy to follow, on a trail that Andy thinks could lead to money but could equally lead nowhere.

There was a feel of a Dan Brown novel to it, in that it was fast paced, clue based, thrilling drama. But it also felt a bit more down to earth and normal. It takes place in an ordinary town with ordinary people. There’s no flying half way around the world to save the world or defuse a bomb or anything like that. And I found that a refreshing change and somewhat more believable.

However, what really made me fall in love with this book (and you know you’re in love when you can’t stop thinking about it, the ending is still making me smile - it was so pleasing) were the characters. They weren’t what I expected and I probably love and hate them exactly where I was supposed to, but the character that interested me the most was Kate. She had real depth, having compassion on both Craig and his mother. As the story progressed she showed more courage than Andy and received her reward at the end. Like I say, her actions at the end are still making me smile.

That’s not to say that plot wasn’t brilliant in its own right. Early on I worked out either the first or the second clue and felt very proud of myself, thinking that I would be able to unravel them all and always be one step ahead of Andy. However that was my one and only success and in the end I had to give up guessing and just enjoy the story.

If this book has any weaknesses it would be in some of the characters. One of them I didn’t really buy into - I’m not convinced he would have gone as far as he did in this. I would also have liked to have seen more of Aunt Mary, I felt like she had more to offer.

So yes I would highly recommend this one. It didn’t take me long to read - mainly because I had to read fast to find out what happens. I also didn’t guess the ending and I like that.