Book review: The Reunion by Jack Elgos
The Reunion.
The Reunion takes a step back in time during the last days of World War Two, as a group of soldiers try to bury a mysterious crate looted from the Germans during the Battle of Berlin.
Readers are then jumped into the present (2010 mind you), as a man nicknamed Knocker stumbles across a find that gets him travelling to tell his friends who were young and fearless bikers 30 years ago.
They were part of the No Name Motorcycle Club (NNMC), but things have changed and everyone has parted ways.
When I picked up the book I wasn’t sure on what to expect, but as I read on I got stuck in.
It was hard to distinguish some characters at first (minus Sooty). But as time went on I found myself relating to each of the characters who all had a believable personality of their own. The consistency made the plot believable and it remained so even when the characters took their travels outside of the UK.
There were some predictable moments in the story, but these were pretty forgettable as I was lost wondering how the gang would get out of the sticky situations at hand. With neo-Nazis on their tails, the future didn’t look too good.
From the outset the story left me guessing. Was there a traitor stealing? Was romance blossoming between the unlikeliest of characters? Surely not! But the biggest mystery remained… what was in the crate?
There was also one particular shock in the tale that dropped my jaw in disbelief (and that doesn’t happen to me often let me assure you).
“Did that really happen?” I wondered to myself, until I realised that it all made sense when the story began to unravel further.
Packed with Yorkshire words and phrases, reading may be a problem to some, especially when Sooty comes into the scene. But readers should fear not as Elgos provides a glossary at the back of the book, which provides a few laughs regardless.
There seems to be minor literary mistakes that may offend some of the grammar police out there. And some may take offence at some bad language used – but then again it’s hard to please everyone nowadays anyway.
All in all, The Reunion is a breath of fresh air and is an exciting and well-plotted read from the start to the finish. If this tale was ever adapted into a theatre production, then it’d definitely be something that I’d predict to go far. Heck, I’d pay to see the film.
The Reunion, by Jack Elgos, is available to buy on Amazon (Paperback and on Kindle). You can also find out more about the author and his other titles at www.jack-elgos.com.
