I have this book because I back Baxter on Patreon. Why I back him on Patreon was beyond me until I read this book. I have no memory of where I came across him and no memory of reading any of his works in the past. But past me must have backed him for a reason and present me is very grateful. This book is a reprint of the three Eli Carver supernatural thrillers.
This is three books in one and I have written absolutely zero notes about it. I did have to put it down partway through, not because I wanted to but because I’d gotten myself involved in a Buddy Read-Along with another Aussie Book Blogger friend and we needed to be reading that book at the same time. That book being The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Having finished that book I dove back into Recall at speed.
Eli Carver falls in with the mob. He seems to have the skills they’re willing to foster to make him their own. But he falls in love, has a kid and things don’t go well after that. And then Eli is out for revenge. This is a humdinger of a book. You’ve got ghosts who ride along in the back seat and act as the chorus line, telling us what they think is going to happen. They fight amongst themselves and smoke drugs, basically getting in the way while not taking up any physical room. I love these ghosts. For such a long time I thought they were part of Eli’s psyche rather than real ghosts.
There are some great action sequences. Some of them seemed so well written I could just about see them playing out in my mind. I did wonder how well this book would translate to film or TV. Eli seems to have third sight during the fight sequences and just keeps going even when things aren’t going his way. We are in his head watching while he tells us what is going on.
This is a book that doesn’t pull any punches. Baxter has even included a character who is ace. The explanation is someone who is not sexually attracted to anyone. We’re told this quite directly, there’s no beating about the bush, and no euphemisms. Apart from being psychic she seems quite normal. I quite like her.
Flipping through the book to try and write more about it is a black hole. I could quite easily read this again, I hope I’d find more that I missed on the first reading. If you like your supernatural really dark then I’d suggest this is a good book for you. Personally, I’m looking forward to more from Baxter, this book has whetted my appetite for his writing.
And did you look at the front cover? That’s a really great image. I truly love the hand on the right of the image. It looks fairly lifelike despite seeming to only have three fingers and a thumb. The lack of finger fits in perfectly.