Patrick Doyle's Blog, page 4

Great review from a tough reviewer

"This is my second reviewer/reviewee “date” with author Patrick Doyle, and it still remains an open question whether we will ultimately find an intimate chemistry, or, perhaps, if the occasion merely will be a kind learning experience (accompanied, as Mr. Doyle noted to me after my last review) with a scalpel in hand! Coitus or criticism – let’s see!

First, ‘Jordi’s Day’, set in Barcelona, is essentially a mystery tale, with a heavy touch of Gothic. Many authors quickly establish an appropriate milieu - sometimes done with weather: “It was a dark and stormy night…”; sometimes with mood: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”; and, chutzpah and enormity ignored “In the beginning was the Word…”. Mr. Doyle also knows how to set a scene: “The dark narrow stairs curved sharply at the right. Deep slits in the mottled rock admitted just enough light for them to see one step ahead.”

Next, we are introduced to place and people. First a plus – Barcelona works nicely as a distinctive location, with a language that is not quite our familiar Spanish, and its famous, idiosyncratic architecture, influenced by Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia, totally sui generis.*" (See below for more)

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