Near Death by Richard Wall - [Review]

 Near Death by Richard Wall
[Review]

Synopsis 

John Henry is a prison chaplain in Sing Sing prison, however, after working for many years giving the worst of the worst their last rites before they are sent to the electric chair, a heinous murder committed by Joseph Hickey makes him rethink his job role. John Henry decides he can no longer deal with hardened murderers and decides on a new life in the country, however, identical murders start to appear and all of the convicted men ask for John Henry by name to give them their last rites. Can John work out why the murders are identical and how to stop them or will they forever haunt his future?

My Review

What I loved

The characters - I absolutely loved John Henry from the start. I was expecting the chaplain to be overly kind to these criminals but he did his job professionally and took no nonsense. He felt very real to me as he wasn't an overly religious or exceptionally kind, he was realistic, he made mistakes and he was funny. It was clear that John had experienced some awful things in his many years, he was an orphan who experienced abuse, he was a war veteran and witnessed so much death which really affected him many years later, but yet, he was determined to be a good person.

Eugene who was John's closest friend was also an extremely likeable character, despite all his demons, I was constantly wishing for him to come out on top. Eugene was very clearly experiencing PTSD from being in the war and this played a massive factor in the story which I cannot really get into without giving away spoilers. 

Sally was another great character with a funny personality but was extraordinarily kind. I wish that she was in the story for a longer time but she plays a fundamental part of the story. 

The Plot - The actual plot was brilliant, it was dark and gory but kept you engrossed till the bitter end. Whilst reading, it felt as though I was really there and the ending was perfect. I enjoyed thinking about the logistics of how it would work in theory and it made the plot very believable.

What I didn't like

It's difficult to say because there really wasn't much not to like. The only thing that I wish we had more of was John's background and how he grew up in the Catholic orphanage, it felt like the background was a little brief and I would have been interested in knowing more.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(5/5 stars)

Purchase Near Death here.

About The Author

Richard Wall is a British author who has published Near Death and other books such as Fat Man Blues. He is a freelance technical writer and Managing Director of Black Dog Technical Writing Ltd. Richard joined the Royal Navy and after twenty years in the submarine service, he now lives in rural England and writes novels. To find out more about Richard Wall, click here.

Follow Richard on Twitter for updates at: @writinblues

Follow me for more book updates and reviews at: : @InkDrinkerDawn