Enemies Closer by Tom Batt (Gifted)

Hello Readers,

Thank you, so much Tom Batt for sending me a copy of Enemies Closer for free in exchange for an honest review. Happy Publication Day Tom! Spoiler free

Just for a little context dear Reader Street Siren was 133 pages, and it was hard to put into words what Tom had done in that book. Street Siren had me questioning my own morals, falling in love with the main character and Tom told a full unpredictable story. While Enemies Closer is no different once again I was rooting for the main three characters, questioning my own morals, and thought about what I would do. This book is another short read with slightly more pages at 97 pages (Kindle) or 166 pages (Paperback). The 39 pages less has just melted my brain at how Tom can fit such an emotional twisty tale into such a small space. Or the extra 29 pages pack more punches than Anthony Joshua and it has more twists and turns than The Smiler.

There are three main characters in this book. The first is DI Mike Palmer, who is run down and out of luck. This book manages to take in to account of how taxing it can be being a police officer and the affect it can have on a family.

The second is our book’s resident bad boy, Donovan. After a previous prison stint, he wants to be a legitimate business man but he finds himself being pulled back into the dark depth of his life of crime. Despite being the books resident bad boy, Donovan is a family man and would do almost anything for his wife, twin girls, and his young son.

Finally, we have DS Jade Edmonds who has a loving wife and is happy to do real field work for the Met. Not long into the book Jade gets an unofficial promotion to take over the case from Mike. Sadly, it doesn’t take long before the consequence of being a police officer in charge of an investigation take its toll on Jades relationship with her wife.

Each of these characters are well thought out, have developed arcs and they are also stupidly human. One thing I used to worry about with short books was how little I thought I would connect with the character and how I thought they would be one dimensional. I am not ashamed to say Tom has made me eat my own words not only once but twice.

The pacing is fast throughout this book it really does take your hand and tell you to run. At no point did I feel lost while reading this book I didn’t even have to reread any paragraphs to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. At one point I thought I had this book all figured out and thought watching all the true crime documentaries was going to pay off, oh no dear Reader I was that far off once again I was chilling with Pluto.

Another brilliant book from Tom I really can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeve.

L x 

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