"G" Title-Based A ~ Z Reads

GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS
Joanne Harris
Personal Rating: 4.75/5





This certainly wasn't a traditional mystery of "Who Dun It?", but one that revolved around "Who's Doin' It?"

As I continue to wallow in my surprise and try to sort through my jumbled thoughts, I will begin with something I know...my rating. I’d love to give it a “5”, but a deduction was the only way my poor feeble mind could protest to the leaps in the past and present, along with the unique style of two narrators. These techniques caused me some confusion and frustration in the beginning, but once I settled in, I was quickly drawn into an intricately-woven psychological suspense story.

The revenge-driven plot was executed in an elite English boys' school. Being an educator, I found that reading about the English educational system to be enlightening and the entire storyline to be gripping. I will admit that the English jargon threw me on occasion, but I also learned a few words along the way. Oddly enough, in the beginning, I would shockingly find myself rooting for the “bad guy”. On one hand, I'm very impressed with Harris’ ability to develop such a character, but on the other, I find that it causes me some concern. What was I thinking? Thankfully, the plausibility of this ever happening is very low, but it definitely ranks as an enticing and engrossing read.