Book Review: Angel Rock

Reviewed By: Jennifer Jordan

Angel Rock     Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada HC
Darren Williams
Class/Genre:   Mystery
June 2002 Knopf 296 pages/$23.00

“The first real heat of the summer had just steamed into Angel Rock in a welter of frayed tempers and sun burnt noses the afternoon Tom Ferry, almost thirteen years old and still simple-hearted, made his way down to Coop’s Universal from where the school bus has left him.”

This opening line from Darren Williams U.S. debut, Angel Rock, introduces you to his two lead characters, Tom and Angel Rock itself. Tom may be simple hearted, but the Australian town he lives in is complex and as full of secrets as the outback itself. The twin tragedies that touch Tom’s life trigger the involvement of the town’s sheriff, Pop Mathers and the out-of-town detective Gibson in a plot wrought with insidious twists and heart-wrenching turns. You’ll wish you could hold Tom’s hand with this book as it ends in an unpredictable and frantic climax.

The taut prose builds slowly, but beautifully. You will be rewarded.

Jennifer Jordan

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jennifer Jordan