Dragon of Life Book 1: Raining Truth by Mark Devine
| Dragon of Life Book 1: Raining Truth by Mark Devine | |
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| Category: Women's Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A hero and a heroine who come off the page and more action than you normally get in women's fiction. A good holiday read. Mark Devine popped into Bookbag Towers to chat to us. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 320 | Date: June 2012 |
| Publisher: Moon Tiger International | |
| ISBN: 978-0985016401 | |
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When we first encounter Luke Whitaker he is - he tells us - a disembodied spirit placed in this part of the heavenly kingdom so that he can remember his life and emotions exactly as they were lived. I don't know about you, but I'd find that rather unpleasant and decidedly embarrassing. Luke Whitaker recognises that there are parts of his life which he'd rather remove from the record, but acknowledges that he can't. We join him in 1967 in Seattle and he's on his way to Honolulu. When he sets off he doesn't realise quite how momentous the trip is going to be.
In Honolulu he meets Martha Pringle. She's sailing from Auckland in New Zealand to San Francisco with just her father as crew. Luke's attracted to the dazzling young nurse but tragedy strikes before he and Martha meet again when she brings Tropicana ashore many hundreds of miles north of the intended route. Even then it's not simple, as Luke and Martha face threats of violence and rather more interest from the FBI than seems reasonable in the circumstances. What it comes down to is that they have to make it together - or not at all.
You'll be impressed by Luke Whitaker. It's not just the fact that he has money (the chain of family hotels has just been sold to various consortia of employees) or that his personal staff (don't you just love a man who has personal staff?) would move mountains for him. He's classy, he has chutzpah and he gets things done - efficiently. Oh, yes - and he's a gentleman, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. Let's forget the fact that Martha is classically beautiful and concentrate on the fact that she's sassy. She's the perfect foil for Luke and they move from being friends, to best friends to - well, I'm not going to tell you that bit, but they make up their minds that whatever their relationship they're going to make however long they've got not long enough. It's not a bad principle, you know.
It's quite a story too, with more action than you normally get in a book which is primarily aimed at women and a decent mystery to boot. There's a real sense of location in the western United States and particularly in the yachting world. The writing is clever - slick (in the best sense of the word) and polished, with Luke being the master of the bon mot. There were a couple of quotes which I though over long and the occasional word, such as sopranos (used as a verb) which were over-used, but these are minor quibbles in an otherwise enjoyable book.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag. We read the book in paperback, but it's also available as an ebook.
If this book appeals then you might also enjoy Dangerous Waters: Mystery, Loss and Love on the Island of Guernsey by Anne Allen.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Dragon of Life Book 1: Raining Truth by Mark Devine at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Dragon of Life Book 1: Raining Truth by Mark Devine at Amazon.com.
Mark Devine was kind enough to be interviewed by Bookbag.
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