Book Review: Serendipity by James Duncan

Synopsis: 'If you have your health, but you don't have your wealth - then you have less nothing.' asserted Edward Noble. 

First, utterly bankrupt in spiritual terms, the amoral Edward Noble is then utterly bankrupted financially. 

For a man who dismissed most people as losers, he is now humiliated in every sense as he becomes 'a big league player for the Loserville Losers'. His misadventures soon lead to Skid Row, as he is cuckolded, ripped off and rejected in a perverse about-turn of Fate. 

But if Edward can only learn humility, Serendipity, sweet Serendipity is calling to him. She offers him opportunities that he had never dreamt were possible. 

Review: Serendipity is quite a roller coaster ride of a book. Our main character, Edward Noble, appears to be the polar opposite of his name, at least at the start of the book.

He seems to be driven by money, making money, and lots of it. Not exactly a likeable trait in today's 'me me me' world.

When an investment goes wrong, it is not the investment owners that take the hit (in a scene that is almost Biblical in its execution), but Edward himself.

He finds himself suddenly unable to live the life he is now thrust into, and the future doesn't look rosy for him all of a sudden.

The narrative is good - it explains Edward's actions whilst at the same time giving us a background into the financial world he was part of. At the first time of reading I wanted to understand exactly why Malcolm and Matt were tucking him up. I then accepted it that banking is very much a dog eat dog world - moreso perhaps than other industries.

In essence, the author tries to get us on side with Edward, even though at the outset, I certainly didn't want to root for him.

Serendipity is a serious book that has occasional light overtones. It takes you on a journey with a man who had suddenly lost everything he considered valuable in his life.

When it is Edward asking a beggar for money, you know that this man's journey is one you have to take alongside him.

Serendipity is one of those novels that taste like a trifle you are not sure about. As you delve more into it, it reveals itself to be a clever tale, and in part, how one can redeem themselves from such a terrible situation.

There's lots of very English slang words to the book, and those of us who are from different parts of England will have fun decoding some of the references.

A line that stood out for me:-

The problem with ladies with real class is that they are fully equipped with a powerful b***-s*** detector, which would eliminate a man with a story to tell like Edward's at 200 yards.

This is a strong debut from author James Duncan. He has also co-authored another work with the multi-talented J Kahele. So if you want to get an understanding of how this author's mind words, start with Serendipity. You cannot go wrong with this!

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Book Review: Crazy on You by James Duncan, J Kahele

If you hear a book described as a taut, tough sexy thriller, you could maybe think of a million books and films that have been described this way, but rarely - if ever - deliver.

Crazy on You is a co-authored work by J Kahele of the stupendous Mine series, as well as the superb Facade. James Duncan is a UK based author.

Both styles come together to work in devastating fashion. James writes from the London base, making his character Archie Pope real, cocky, and likeable. Isabella is created from the Italian-American side, and it would be easy to say that Miss Kahele wrote all her lines.

The thing is, this co-authored book is so masterfully put together, the two writers may have well have been sitting side by side as they wrote.

I really wasn't sure if I would like Archie, he of The Pope Crew, a rather unsavoury set of London gangsters, who made me think of Dexter Fletcher in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. That film absolutely rocked, but things in this story pick up when the Crew jet off to New York to negotiate a deal with the brutal head of the Commatra family.

Sounds like Goodfellas and Casino rolled into one, right? I love both of those films, and this story put me back amongst those wiseguys. What perhaps is not so wise is Archie falling - big time - for Isabella - our New York crime bosses daughter.

It's clear these two have a link, and it sets in motion a chain of events that could destroy both crews, and tangle their lives into a loop that cannot be unravelled. 

I'm not from Lahn-donn, but from Birmingham. We speak a bit differently here, although I don't really have a Brummie accent. Imagine if Toril from my Dark Winter series is told 'Toril bab, mind where yams putting that wand, yamorite love?'

That said, I was totally at home with the Cockney slang, and it's a fun part of the book to read. Perhaps where the book is at its strongest is in the writing of the Pope crew, who constantly 'take the mick' out of one another, whilst respecting each other (to a certain degree).

They arrive in the US, absolutely cock-sure of themselves. In US gangster films like GF and Casino, there is always that worry about upsetting another crew. 

Not the Popes. They are nasty, brutal, and cool with it.

The 'hot' scenes, as ever from the author of Mine and Facade, are tastefully done and you get the real love Archie and Isabella have for one another. 

Some may view the fact that Archie pretty much falls for Isabella the first moment he sees her as not for real - I can honestly say that some women can have that affect on men, and it's often more than just a lustful feeling.

From the start, Crazy on You has a different feel. Just how can one categorise this story? It's a gangster tale, a sexy romance, a suspenseful thriller (literally each page could have had someone blown away) and a comedy.

Some of the lines were truly laugh out loud:-

"He's got more front than Brighton."

"If Al Pacino and Joe Pesci had taken a leak or two, hundreds of lives would have been saved."

You should read the book for more!

So take a bow, Mr Duncan and Miss Kahele. I'm Crazy on this book!

Buy at Amazon US

Buy at Amazon UK