Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

Wildcard ~ March

kidsofappetite

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

My opinion in three sentences:

Everything about the book intrigued me and pulled me in – the cover, the blurb, the title. It was an irresistible combination when I saw it on the library shelf, and now, I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, just unsatisfied. It was well-written, cleverly presented, showed clear research, and yet, put-down-and-forgettable, which was a shame.

(Without spoiling anything) the best bit:

Arnold handled the dual timeline really well. As a reader, I knew where I stood in the chain of events, and found the non-linear approach worked really well for the tale Arnold was telling, helping to keep the intrigue whilst slipping snippets of knowledge to the reader. Combine that with the novel approach, beginning each section with a transcribed police interview from after the event? A great approach, handled well.

A warning for the book:

Bizarrely enough for a mystery book, it had the problem of being forgettable. Yes, I was intrigued to know what occurred leading up to the police interviews at the start of each section. Yes, I was interested to know how all the characters came together and how Vic became a tight knit member in just a week. But as soon as I put the book down, it was all gone. I had no deep desire to pick it back up, and had it not been a library loan, it could have sat on my shelf, half-done, for months on end.

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