Dreams of Eleven- Book Review

Author: Michael Bartlett

Publisher: Crumps Barn Studio 

Publishing Date: 29th November 2022

Many Thanks to the publishing team for my copy in exchange for an honest review 

Blurb

Richard Kirkwood has a secret … a secret he’s kept buried beneath unrelenting work. Now his wife has followed a job to New York and a corporate scandal has put him on garden leave. He’s got nowhere left to hide. So when Richard announces he’s looking for Julie, a girl he last saw 40 years ago, everyone suspects he’s still carrying a torch for his childhood sweetheart.

But this search is so much more.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. 

One thing that stood out for me and which I felt was unique to this book or any that I have read before was the structure.  We initially meet a few characters Richard, Simon,  Lauren and from then one in each chapter towards the end we get introduced to someone else and following this the next chapter will focus on that person and how they are connected to Richard and builds on the plot.

I was initially a bit confused as to why when he wants to distract himself and go on the search for a person he would choose Julie from his past. Even his wife raises the question and seems irritated by it but she somehow remains mellow about it, but she has also left for New York. And it remains a mystery for a while but soon starts to make sense as you start to put the jigsaw pieces together. 

We also get the odd chapter 1/4 of the way in that goes back to 1962 and I thought this was a good way to get a snapshot of that moment in time. As the plot continues and the search for Julie builds up, we get the feeling this isn't going to be as straight forward. We get to find out more details about Julie and get introduced to more characters, Likewise as this is happening  life gets more complicated for Richard!

 

We learn more bout the fraud case and how much of an impact this has on those affected by it and we get the conclusion in the final few chapters. 

A fab read!