Six Lies by Ben Adams // Book Review

It's fair to say that upon receiving this book in my Kindle library I knew next to nothing about it, except what I could gather from Adams' Twitter bio, which told me to expect "bad sex, affairs, annoying children, and the odd bit of love". E-books don't come with blurbs either, so whatever was inside Six Lies would be a complete surprise; which is not often the case in my reading history. I'm happy to say that I finished the book in one sitting. Okay, two sittings, I'm human and I need to grab a cuppa every now and again.

Six Lies revealed itself to be about a musician called Dave, who has just lost his mum and his wife (in very different scenarios). Fairly early on, we learn that the woman he believed was his mum... wasn't, and that leaves his dad with a whole lot of explaining - and possibly grovelling - to do. The subject matter does sound heavy, but not to worry because there are lots of laughs and twists and turns along the way. It isn't a story that has one defining moment, really, it's all about riding things out. It's fun all the way through, with tonnes of musicial references - a definite plus for any 80s lovers (I know you're out there) - and with absolutely nothing to depress you. Although Adams takes on some fairly weighty topics, it's done so masterfully, with wit and optimism. Six Lies is what it is, it doesn't take itself too seriously and it certainly doesn't pretend to be anything other than a feel-good story about getting on with things.

Let me just reiterate that this is not a book I would ordinarily pick up, if I had any inclination of what it was about - I'm too much a lover of fantasy. Being more accustomed to the likes of Tolkien and Martin, I can say with some certainty that I am probably not Adams' target audience, either; but I enjoyed it thoroughly nonetheless. If I can read a book that's (just a wee bit) out of my genre spectrum, and enjoy it, that surely means it was written well. I had no qualms with the writing style or narrative voice  (as I so often do with books that read like contemporaries), and in fact I really rather liked the characters, even Lou, who didn't seem to know what she was doing at times.

Admit it, aren't you curious about what happened to Dave's real mum, or whether he gets back with Louise? Pick up a copy and find out - there'll be no spoilers here!

SPECIAL THANKS to the author for the opportunity to read this book, which was sent to me in return for an honest review. It's been thoroughly enjoyable to share Dave's journey and see where it leads. *As always, all views stated in this post are my own.*

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