Skip to main content

The Strange Book of Jacob Boyce by Tom Gillespie @tom_gillespie @VineLeavesPress @lovebooksgroup


I'm republishing my review from July today, as part of the Book Blitz.


Description

A spiralling obsession. A missing wife. A terrifying secret. Will he find her before it’s too late?

When Dr Jacob Boyce’s wife goes missing, the police put it down to a simple marital dispute. Jacob, however, fears something darker. Following her trail to Spain, he becomes convinced that Ella’s disappearance is tied to a mysterious painting whose hidden geometric and numerical riddles he’s been obsessively trying to solve for months. Obscure, hallucinogenic clues, and bizarre, larger-than-life characters, guide an increasingly unhinged Jacob through a nightmarish Spanish landscape to an art forger’s studio in Madrid, where he comes face-to-face with a centuries-old horror, and the terrifying, mind-bending, truth about his wife.



Review


I doubt you have read a book quite like this before. The title says it all really it is a "strange book" and it's all about Jacob Boyce. I admit to having to re read the first few pages of the book as I thought I had misread them. As the book went on I began to realise that this could be a regular occurrence if I wasn't careful and just decided to go with the "strangeness".


Jacob is obsessed with a painting and it's hidden meaning, and for me this had echoes of the Di Vinci code. It's well known that paintings possess hidden meanings through the objects placed in them and I do love it when someone explains a painting for you. So, I fell hook line and sinker for this aspect of the plot including the mathematics. There is a mention of Napiers Bones which I remember from school - there my maths knowledge ended but it didn't spoil the enjoyment of the book. 


The book has three parts, two of which are set in Glasgow which I've visited and I certainly felt a sense of place, especially the underground and the art gallery (although it's not named). The middle part of the book is set in Spain and whilst I haven't been to either of the places Jacob goes to I still got that sense of knowing the places. 


The last part of the book sees Jacob engage in what I would politely say is earthy language, so if you are easily offended this may not be the book for you. Brilliantly written this is a tale which won't be for everyone, but if you like intrigue, mystery and disappearing down the rabbit hole then this will be for you.


I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Kelly at Love Books Tours for sending me the ARC to review. 




About the Author

Tom Gillespie grew up in a small town just outside Glasgow. After completing a Masters in English at Glasgow University, he spent the next ten years pursuing a musical career as a singer/songwriter, playing, recording and touring the UK and Europe with his band. He now lives in Bath with his wife, daughter and hyper-neurotic cat, where he works at the university as an English lecturer. Tom writes long and short stories. His stories have appeared in many magazines, journals and e-zines. He is co-author of Glass Work Humans-an anthology of stories and poems, published by Valley Press. Visit Tom at tom-gillespie.com


Buy Link

https://amzn.to/2zspp0N




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

Description THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER. YOU DON'T KNOW HER. BUT SHE KNOWS YOU. Rear Window  meets  Gone Girl , in this exceptional and startling psychological thriller Review I must be one of the last people to read this book. I did apply for a review copy but unfortunately wasn't successful. I then waited for the book to come down in price which it didn't - so I decided I would buy it and read it straight away! I'm sure it will be a film and before anyone gives away what happens I felt I really needed to get it read, so it jumped the TBR queue. There is not much plot outline from the publisher as you can see in the description above, so there wasn't a lot to go on when I began to read the book. First of all the book jumps around date wise - past and present and also between the main characters. I did have a little trouble remembering who was who and which time frame we were in - but that soon settled down. I also had to re-read the beginning because I th...

The Second Chance Book Club - Stephanie Butland

I'm on the Blog Tour for this wonderful book today. Description Dear Ms Blythe We are dealing with an estate of which you may be a beneficiary. Please send any documents in your possession that relate to your birth and adoption. September is at her wits' end. There's never enough money to support her boyfriend and herself. September has nothing to look forward to. Then the letter comes. September has inherited a house from a great-aunt she never knew she had. It would make sense to sell it. But when sees the place - the orange gate, the garden, the tree, the bumblebee door knocker - she doesn't want to let it go. Not yet. Then the members of the book club arrive, and she begins to discover the story of the family she didn't know. And to make new friends. September feels safe here. But money alone can't bring contentment. September is just at the start of a journey full of surprises, shocks – and opportunities, if she's brave enough . . . Review As soon as I...

This Immaculate Body - Emma Van Straaten

Description ' From the very first page, Emma Van Straaten had me by the Hail Marys.  Obsessive, delusional, disastrous - but so intricately woven with heart, warmth and empathy. An impeccable debut from a rising talent ' ALICE SLATER 'An addictive deep-dive into the dark, throbbing heart of obsessive desire.  Baby Reindeer  meets  Convenience Store Woman '  KIRSTY LOGAN, author of  Now She Is Witch Alice has been cleaning Tom's flat every Wednesday for a year. With every smudge wiped from his coffee cup, every crease smoothed out in his bed, every multivitamin counted from the jar, Alice spirals deeper into infatuation. But as Alice prepares for the moment when they will finally meet face-to-face, she discovers that love might not be the cure she thought it was. . . This Immaculate Body  is a story of obsession, of the way women view the world and the ways that the world views them. As Alice frantically tries to cling to an imagined future with Tom, th...