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Arabesque

by Colin Mulhern (Goodreads Author)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 27 ratings · 8 reviews

Amy May is the best at everything she does. But how do you know you're really the best until you're tested? Until you're pushed to the limit?

A botched kidnapping attempt drags Amy and her best friend into the depths of a criminal underworld, a world where the players think with bullets and blackmail. Where they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

And what they want,...more

Paperback, 303 pages

Published September 1st 2012 by Catnip

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Sep 17, 2012 William rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general

Amy May is a talented gymnast with a drive to be the best. After a bungled kidnapping she and best friend Mia find themselves in the clutches of a ruthless criminal boss. Although he lets them live, the price is high and Amy is left having to make the hardest decision of her life.

This is another gritty plot from the same author that brought us ‘Clash’. The second novel is always difficult, especially when the first is a hard act to follow. Certainly, this follows the same urgent style that Mulh...more Amy May is a talented gymnast with a drive to be the best. After a bungled kidnapping she and best friend Mia find themselves in the clutches of a ruthless criminal boss. Although he lets them live, the price is high and Amy is left having to make the hardest decision of her life.

This is another gritty plot from the same author that brought us ‘Clash’. The second novel is always difficult, especially when the first is a hard act to follow. Certainly, this follows the same urgent style that Mulhern showed in his first novel. It has high-octane action from the get-go right up to the final twist. It’s another a page-turner; the dynamic phrasing and punchy chapters drive the story through to the finale. It’s quite clearly aimed at the young adult, but unlike ‘Clash’ I don’t think it will appeal as much to an older audience.

Arabesque is another great story, well told. For me, though, it lacks the depth of Mulhern’s debut novel. Putting aside the final twist (which, while unexpected, I personally found unnecessary), the book generally left me feeling unsatisfied. Maybe my expectations were too high; this is, after all, an action story, but I couldn’t help feeling there was more to tell, some point that failed to get across. I would have liked more characterisation, particularly to get to know Amy better and some insight into her relationships and motivations but I guess this isn’t that kind of book. While Galloway, the arch-villain came across as sufficiently cold and calculating, Amy and Mia didn’t get to me emotionally, the way Alex did in ‘Clash’ and that had an impact on how I felt about their plight.

Technically, this was more of a challenge than ‘Clash’ with female protagonists, a sizeable cast of characters and multiple points of view. While the author mostly tackles this with fluency, it isn’t flawless. Some of the switches threw me momentarily and at times credibility was stretched a wee bit too thinly. Additionally, there are some fairly basic editing errors that pulled me away from the story; it really needed another read through before going to print. What is more important was that the denouement relies on a coincidence that borders on Deus ex Machina. While this makes for a satisfactory conclusion, it stretched this reader’s credibility a tad too far.

Worth a read? Definitely, particularly for the teenage target group.
(less)

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Aug 08, 2012 Kirsty (overflowing library) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-books, uk-author

Quite honestly I loved this book. I always find catnip titles are a little bit different with unique ideas and more than one thing that makes them special and this offering is no exception.

I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know the main character Amy. She is a gymnast who has the potential to be Olympic standard once she turns 16 and has both a quiet confidence and enough humility to know that she has to to work hard if she wants to continue to to achieve at a world class standard which...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Joe Humphreys rated it 4 of 5 stars

Arabesque is a breakneck thriller that takes its tagline 'be the best', and tests its protagonist Amy May's competitive philsophy to the ultimate breaking point. Amy is one of the most fiercely determined fifteen year old girls you could possibly come across. A wunderkid gymnast, she's only missing out on being in the Olympics because of her age. The press coverage she gets for this alerts her to some criminals with an eye on making a fast buck. Amy and best friend Mia soon find themselves victi...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Vivienne Serendipity Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

If either Martina Cole or Lynda La Plante wrote Young Adult fiction, this is the kind of book they would produce. I 'm serious, it was like watching one of the BBC dramas unfold on television where as each layer of the story is revealed, an unsuspecting surprise pops out catapulting the story into a completely different direction. I went without sleep to read this book and that very rarely happens these days. I want to petition the BBC to make it into a film, with Ray Winstone as a definite cand...more If either Martina Cole or Lynda La Plante wrote Young Adult fiction, this is the kind of book they would produce. I 'm serious, it was like watching one of the BBC dramas unfold on television where as each layer of the story is revealed, an unsuspecting surprise pops out catapulting the story into a completely different direction. I went without sleep to read this book and that very rarely happens these days. I want to petition the BBC to make it into a film, with Ray Winstone as a definite candidate for one of the main characters.
If I had a hundred copies of this book, I would be handing it out like candy. It really is a must read that will have you gripped and breathless. This book is like entering an East End version of the Twilight zone. You start with one kind of story and whoosh in a downward spiral into another which you are totally unprepared for. I couldn't have predicted how this story would end in a million years. I have to give the author immense praise for such an excellent well written book.
I loved Amy! I thought she was an amazing and strong willed character who could take on any of the kiss ass fantasy heroines presently slaying their way through the fiction world at the moment. Amy is calculated - everything she does is carefully thought through in the first place - there are many layers to this character and you watch in amazement as her real personality shines through. Amy reminded me of Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment; she had that calculated view of life.
I refuse to mention any of the plot as I would end up giving away spoilers. This book is best served without prior knowledge of the plot!
This book is a really gritty read and very compelling, even shocking at times. I was so drawn into the drama I often found myself skipping words and sentences as I was desperate to find out what happened in the end.
I went through a roller coaster of emotions which left me gasping for air by the end. I can't gush about this book enough. It is definitely one of my favourite reads this year. (less)

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Jan 04, 2013 Darren Hartwell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, thriller

This review first appeared on The Book Zone(For Boys) blog

This is going to be a fairly short review (honest!). Not only because I am trying to cut back on the length of my ramblings, but also because I have some frustrations regarding this book that I can't go on about too much as I would be creating massive spoilers.

I haven't (yet) read Colin Mulhern's debut YA novel, Clash, although on the strength of this one I am definitely going to try to find the time in the not-too-distant future. Crime i...more This review first appeared on The Book Zone(For Boys) blog

This is going to be a fairly short review (honest!). Not only because I am trying to cut back on the length of my ramblings, but also because I have some frustrations regarding this book that I can't go on about too much as I would be creating massive spoilers.

I haven't (yet) read Colin Mulhern's debut YA novel, Clash, although on the strength of this one I am definitely going to try to find the time in the not-too-distant future. Crime is definitely becoming one of the genres of the moment for young adults, and Colin Mulhern is up there with the rest of the crowd as far as the quality of his writing and his characters are concerned. Arabesque is a gritty crime thriller that if televised would sit very well as a post watershed drama. It has a cracking fast-paced storyline, and I absolutely loved the main character Amy May.

Amy has been brought up by her father to be someone who strives to be the best at whatever she does. This does not just include her promising career as a potential Olympic gymnast - in the early chapters of the book we are given hints that her father has for some reason brought her up to be able to look after herself, be it through hand-to-hand combat or even with a firearm. Initially we can only guess as to why this might be, but as the story progresses we are drip-fed occasional morsels of information that add to Amy's slightly unusual upbringing.

A botched crime leads to Amy and her best friend Mia being kidnapped. Unfortunately for the girls, the group that kidnap them are more than a little inept, and they very quickly find themselves at the mercy of Andrew Galloway, a far more ruthless career criminal. Galloway has plans for Amy, and in order to ensure that she follows them he separates her from Mia, who is taken away to a place where more than her life is at risk. Amy has to decide - will she try to protect her friends by carrying out Galloway's diabolical plan? Or will she forget Mia and try to save her own skin?

I mentioned at the start of this review that I harboured a number of frustrations regarding Arabesque. Before I go on to them I just want to state that I loved the majority of this book. I found it exciting and tense, and think it would make a great read for older teens - it does deal with some fairly adult themes that would make it unsuitable for younger teens. However, there were also one or two things I took issue with. The first of these was a major coincidence that enters the story a handful of chapters before the end. Some might call it a major twist (I saw it coming a mile off), and following some time reflecting over it I can just about accept it, and on its own I think it would have gone pretty much ignored in this review. However, something happens at the very end of the book that in my opinion just does not make any sense at all. I'm trying to explain myself a bit more without creating spoilers, and I think the best I can say is that a character ends up somewhere that they really should not be. There is just no reasonable explanation for this character's presence at this stage of the story. Unless of course, I have missed something completely in the earlier part of the story.

And that's all I can say about it. Please read the book - it is well worth your time - but I would love to know if anyone out there shares my opinion.(less)

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Oct 05, 2012 Tim Gardner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved it.
Unexpected ending - hope there is a sequel.
interested to read previous novel now I learn some characters make cameos in this one.

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Aug 28, 2012 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Just finished proof given to me by Colin himself, and must say I am quietly impressed, gritty, tense and an ending guaranteed to divide opinion.

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Mar 17, 2013 Deborah rated it 4 of 5 stars

A good action book. Enjoyable modern adventure action story.

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May 14, 2013 Krie added it

Shelves: look-into-this

May 11, 2013 Qara marked it as to-read

Apr 25, 2013 Zoe rated it 1 of 5 stars

Apr 20, 2013 Bochra Boudarka rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 13, 2013 Lindsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 10, 2013 Charlotte rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 14, 2013 Marta M added it

Apr 03, 2013 Lucinda marked it as to-read

Mar 05, 2013 Sammee (I Want to Read That) marked it as to-read

Shelves: tbr-pile

Feb 08, 2013 Ella rated it 4 of 5 stars

Feb 06, 2013 Colin rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Jan 26, 2013 Akiko Atsushi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jan 06, 2013 Sunny added it

Jan 05, 2013 Lector rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 04, 2013 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dec 30, 2012 Kimberly marked it as to-read

Dec 30, 2012 Hayley marked it as to-read

Dec 25, 2012 ☼Alice☼ rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, own-it

Dec 20, 2012 Aamzy95 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dec 17, 2012 Veray Carter marked it as to-read

Nov 26, 2012 Evie Lawlor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazing, definatly

Nov 23, 2012 Alia Darling marked it as to-read

Shelves: fantasy-to-read

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About Colin Mulhern

Colin Mulhern is the author of Young Adult novels, Arabesque and Clash.

He lives in the north-east where he works as a teaching assistant in a primary school.

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