"Carnival of Shadows" is another piece of art written by R.J. Ellory. I loved every book I read so far and can gladly add this one to the list. The strength in Ellory's books lies in the way he manages to describe the setting, the environment, the atmosphere. He creates wonderful characters and writes in such a way that you can not help but be sucked into the story. Set in the 1950's in Kansas, USA, this book tells the story of FBI special agent Michael Travis who is being sent to buttcrack nowhere to investigate a murder that happened right when a carnival was present. The carnival containing several weird and special people, is an easy victim for the suspect role, but very soon it becomes clear that more is going on. Quite a challenge for the black-and-white fact loving Michael Travis. Not only is the story well written with a lot of suspense, I also liked how in between chapters, we learn more about Travis' past. Intriguing. Well written. Just plain beautiful.

I received this copy in a Goodreads 'First Reads' Giveaway.

Normally, Thrillers/Mysteries/Crime books are not my thing. But I was intrigued by the mention of a Paranormal twist and I enjoy dipping into genres I don't normally read every once in a while. I'm so glad I did! Though I haven't read many, this is probably one of the few that I liked. Because I rooted for our murder-solving hero, I was intrigued by his past and his motivations and the characters that surrounded him were great. The mystery itself was a good one and I have to say, that the end result was a plot twist that I did not at all expect though elements of it were a little ridiculous. I did not give higher because I did not hugely enjoy the amount of flashbacks and memories I encountered, it felt like a bit of a distraction from the main story. Still, a worthwhile read and I would love to get into more of Ellory's work. 'Carnival Of Shadows' shows good examples of how this genre should be written in my opinion.

For a full review, see here: http://chasedbymyimagination.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/book-review-carnival-of-shadows-rj.html

I'm not much for reviewing individual books/stories. It's not my thing.

Ellory is just about my number 1 author. He can do no wrong when it comes to storytelling.

It took a while before the book got properly interesting. The end is a bit confusing.

Slow to get going for me, second half much better paced. The constant flashback chapters at the beginning grated on me too.

On the surface, it appears that this book is about the FBI investigating the murder of a man found underneath a carousel at a carnival that has arrived in Seneca Falls, Kansas in 1959. That is certainly one part of the story, but another huge part of the book is the backstory of FBI Special Agent, Michael Travis and it is fascinating. From the book cover, we learn that Michael’s mother killed his father and was subsequently found guilty and executed. The author flips back and forth between the present (1959) and Michael’s backstory which involved the death of his father, his mother’s incarceration and execution, his subsequent time in the Welfare system in Kansas and then going to live with a distant relative (through marriage, not blood). Now, I am all about the story and the characters when it comes to whether I am enjoying a particular book and I’m not as observant at noticing the style of writing as other reviewers, but I found the writing in this book so beautiful that it made me sit up and notice. I found myself slowing down in reading this book so that I could savor the writing (something that I normally do not do).

Along with a fascinating back story, the present day (1959) story is pretty interesting too. A carnival has arrived in town, they have pitched their tents and are putting on their shows. On their second day in town, a man is found underneath the carousel but no one knows who he is – the carnival workers claim they don’t know him and the townspeople don’t know him and that is when FBI Special Agent Travis is put on the case, but with restrictions. Travis’ job is to find out whether this crime falls within the purview of the FBI, or the local sheriff’s office. His boss informs him that he is not to file daily reports, which is contrary to how investigations normally are run, and he is not allowed to request assistance from any FBI staff or district offices. Eventually there are more questions than answers. Special Agent Travis starts to question just how deep the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover are involved in this matter and whether there is blood on their hands.

The plot of the story is interesting and the talents of the carnival workers are captivating. At the end of the story, the reader is rewarded with answered questions and a plot that is nicely wrapped up in a bow.

I enjoyed this book even more than I thought I would when I first discovered it and I give it 5 stars.