Thrilled to be taking part in Gordon J. Brown’s ANY DAY NOW blog tour. Huge thanks to Sean Coleman of Red Dog Press for the invite and the ARC. I rarely take part in tours anymore as I still have so many reviews to catch up on and life… but something about this book intrigued me and I’m so glad I said yes! First here is a bit about the book and the author!
About the Author
Gordon Brown has eight crime and thriller books published to date, along with a novella and a number of short stories.
Gordon also helped found Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival (see www.bloodyscotland.com), is a DJ on local radio (www.pulseonair.co.uk) and runs a strategic planning consultancy. He lives in Scotland and is married with two children.
In a former life Gordon delivered pizzas in Toronto, sold non-alcoholic beer in the Middle East, launched a creativity training business, floated a high tech company on the London Stock Exchange, compered the main stage at a two-day music festival and was once booed by 49,000 people while on the pitch at a major football Cup Final.
Find him on twitter @GoJaBrown
About the Book
It’s 1982 and sixteen-year-old Catherine Day has been abandoned for good by her mother in their Glasgow home. Alone, in trouble, and desperate for money, Catherine is quickly ensnared by local criminals. In an attempt to escape a life of crime, she joins a local rock band.
She battles hard to succeed in the fickle music world, aided by a mysterious, and ever-present guardian angel – a man who has connections to her missing mother, her unknown father, and who, it transpires, is hiding a secret about her family and the Cold War that could change Catherine’s life forever.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine meets Daisy Jones and The Six in this heart-warming, heart-breaking coming-of-age story filled with humour and pathos.
Starting in1982/Glasgow we meet the young Catherine Day and follow her from her mid-teens through to her young adult life. Gossip, secrets, struggles, substance misuse, the working class, music and friendship plus so much more can be found within the pages of this novel.
The author gives you the perfect insight into Catherine and where the story will be going with the opening chapters. I was mesmerised and absolutely hooked. Initially I was unsure whether this novel was going to be my kind of read but Gordon J. Brown is a true master at story-telling and immediately had me turning those virtual pages.
What I really loved is how the book seamlessly combined music, life, a bit of mystery along with the way we see the main character grow, make mistakes, repeat history and then… well, no spoilers from me but to say I adored this book would be an understatement.
Character-wise we meet quite a few, but each are fleshed out and I was invested in them all. For me, characters really make a story and the author had me screaming, cheering and at times even a little sad as I learned how each character added to the novel. There were some unanaswered questions and I hope that means we might have another book, or else I will have to make up my own and Catherine’s mother won’t fare well 😂 I didn’t like her, but maybe if I learned more about her decisions, I might change my mind.
Would I recommend this book? 🎼 Please, please tell me now… 🎼 Abso-friggin-lutely I would! Mysterious, nostalgic & totally engrossing, this coming-of-age novel had me completely captivated. There was also a crime element to it, but to be honest, it would have been fabulous even without that. All the stars from me!
