Sinner's Gin

Sinner's Gin - Rhys Ford The novel, Sinner’s Gin, by Rhys Ford was supplied for review by the author. While it should be obvious to say, this is a honest review and I was not influenced by any action of the author.-----Basic Plot: Miki St. John is the only surviving member of a band after a horrific car accident. Now recovering, he hides from life and the world. Enter Kane Morgan, a cop who is irritated by Miki’s “dog” and finds a body in Miki’s garage. Now the mystery is who did it, was it Miki or is someone trying to frame him? Why does Kane find Miki so enchanting and can Miki learn to trust Kane? What I thought: One thing that I loved about this book was the humor. This is a pretty dark book in many parts, and Ford did an excellent job of splicing humor into it. Granted, sometimes the humor was pretty dark.Another aspect that I loved about this book is the ensemble cast. Ford beautifully builds the world of Sinner’s Gin with Kane’s family and friends and these secondary characters help to create an intriguing environment. The imagery is so vivid I often feel like I am watching a movie. The conversations with Kane’s father Donal was hilarious and colorful, I could visualize the Irish clans jovially arguing with each other. What Could be Better? When I give a book a four or five-star review, it is usually difficult to really find something to improve the novel. In this case, the only thing that really bothered me was the cover. Not really the composition, but the tone. The book, while containing a HEA has a very dark background and some of the events are quite graphic and intense. Yet, the cover does not illustrate any of this darkness. Not sure what I would really do to change it, and I was certainly surprised by the darkness inside the pages so it did add to the intensity of the scenes. Conclusion When I look for a book, I hope to find something that compels me to reflect on something other than my world. Sometimes, that might be a mystery story, a foreign culture, or a faraway planet. Through all of these themes I want to discover something about myself. What I found in Sinner’s Gin is a story about a man who is trying to rebuild his life again after a tragic car accident and finds love along the way. We discover that despite a shattering background you can start over and love can find you if you have the courage to try.I thoroughly loved this book and I am giddy with excitement about the next book. I can say with quite certainly that Rhys Ford continues to be an auto-buy author and I look forward to reading her next book.