Book Review: Carnival Of Shadows; R.J. Ellory.

So this was my third read of the month and I have to be honest, I was a bit unsure how I would feel about it. Thrillers are not normally my cup of tea. Nevertheless, I ended up rather enjoying it and can't wait to share my thoughts! I'm entering this into the September Key Words challenge.

SOURCE: Goodreads Giveaway
TYPE: Paperback

TITLE: Carnival Of Shadows
AUTHOR: R.J.Ellory
SERIES: --
PUBLISHER: Orion Books
PAGES: 652
GENRE: Thriller, Crime, Mystery

RATING: 2.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
Kansas, 1959. A travelling carnival appears overnight in the small town of Seneca Falls, intriguing the townsfolk with acts of inexplicable magic and illusion. But when a man's body is discovered beneath the carousel, with no clue as to his identity, FBI Special Agent Michael Travis is sent to investigate.

Led by the elusive Edgar Doyle, the carnival folk range from the enigmatic to the bizarre, but none of them will give Travis a straight answer to his questions. With each new turn of the investigation, Doyle and his companions challenge Travis's once unshakeable faith in solid facts and hard evidence. 


As the consequences of what has happened become ever more disturbing, Travis struggles to open his mind to a truth that defies comprehension. Will he be able to convince himself that things are not what they seem? Or will he finally reconcile himself to a new reality - one that threatens to undermine everything in which he has ever placed his trust?

What I Liked:

• The characters. In particular, the main character: Michael Travis. Normally when I read Crime books, I find myself getting at least a little irritated with the Hero/Heroine of the story doing the solving. In this case though, no! Michael Travis had an interesting past, a sense of humour and yet a personality that remained serious, yet interesting enough to keep me reading. He was clever, but not arrogant. Focused, but not rude or grumpy. I liked him a lot. The side characters too were memorable and interesting, and it was fun to learn about them as the book progressed.
• Ellory writes very well. As I mentioned, this genre is not normally my thing, but this might be the Author to change my mind. There was a lot of humour, a well-written story and I enjoyed the world that he built. The plot was full of twists and turns, the final one being one that I did not expect in the slightest! It certainly kept me on my toes!

What I Disliked:

• There was quite a bit of jumping about in time as our hero had a series of Flashbacks during the story. I don't normally that kind of thing but for some reason, it just felt a little distracting from the story-line in this case. They did contribute to the story, I just wish they had been a little more spread out and not quite so long.

Overall Conclusion:

I really did enjoy this book and I'm so glad that I got a chance to read it. It was well-written, the characters were fantastic and I loved the world-building. I was pretty hooked from start to finish, though at times the story felt a little interrupted by glimpses into Travis' past that could be a bit lengthy at times.