Book Review // The Forgotten Ones by Brian McGilloway

The Forgotten Ones caught my eye when dropped in my inbox because it was a Witness Impulse published novel. I’ve experienced nothing but positive reading with Witness Impulse and Brian McGilloway’s novel was no different.

My likes:
Lucy’s character: I fell in love with Lucy. She is a strong female lead character, yet has a caring heart. Even with family issues surrounding her, she doesn’t have a bitter wall built around her; she takes every issue in stride. Even with taking it all in stride, she has a lot of chaos swirling around her and is pulled in a variety of different directions, but Lucy gains her balance and continues to keep bouncing back.
Tension: Why do I like tension? It adds another dimension to the reading on top of the already noted plot. Lucy’s tension is caused by her partner, Robbie, and her mother – and mother doesn’t just cause family crisis.

My dislikes (or observation, not so much a dislike):
Busy-ness: This is not exactly bad, but just an observation. The Forgotten Ones is very busy at first with several stories intertwining before readers get to the real meat of the story. Again, it’s not a bad thing, and most stories do have a variety of busy-ness happening, but it could potentially cause some jumbled reading. It does calm down, so keep reading!
Flow: Again, just an observation. There are times within the book where the writing jumbles the flow of reading. It’s not bad and doesn’t hinder the story. I kept in my mind that the author is from Ireland and sometimes writing may translate different with word, thoughts, and ideas when in the hands of a U.S. reader.

Overall, I enjoyed The Forgotten Ones. I was kept involved which rarely bores a reader and the circle of the stories told within the whole make for the read to keep you wanting to know what happens. I definitely did not want to book down the book until the end. Rated: 4 out of 5 stars.   

Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. After studying English at Queen’s University, Belfast, he took up a teaching position in St Columb’s College in Derry, where he was Head of English. His first novel, Borderlands, published by Macmillan New Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2007 and was hailed by The Times as “one of (2007’s) most impressive debuts.” The second novel in the series, Gallows Lane, was shortlisted for the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year. The third Devlin, Bleed a River Deep, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of their Best Books of 2010. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling Lucy Black series, all to be published by Witness. Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and their four children.