The Paperback Pursuer: Review # 241: The Miracle Inspector by Helen Smith

Description: (from GoodReads)

England has been partitioned and London is an oppressive place where poetry has been forced underground, theaters and schools are shut, and women are not allowed to work outside the home. A young couple, Lucas and Angela, try to escape from London – with disastrous consequences.

Review:

Helen Smith's The Miracle Inspector blew me away with its bleak and gnarled view of the future and its fear-driven inhabitants! The book blurb may seem somewhat unconventional, but this disturbing dystopian thriller's look into the fractured, chaotic, and desecrate future of Britain grabbed my attention at page one. I did not expect to be so intrigued by Helen Smith's well-placed prose, full of startling depictions as well as biting, yet somehow lyrical, humor. Her ability to create such a believable tale of paranoia and hopelessness is built on some of the most debilitating fears plaguing today's societies - terrorists, rapists, murderers, pedophiles, corrupt governments, abusers, etc... Everyone watches everyone else, but is helpless to stop what they see - and escape is futile. Aspects of the overall plot are eerily reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, 1984, and Brave New World, three of my favorite high-school reads; however, it is by no means stagnant or unoriginal. There is a lot less action than I had hoped for, but it makes up for it with vivid and well-developed characters and dialogue, especially where Angela and Lucas are concerned. This book is intense and leaves readers with more questions than answers, but it is well worth the read. Recommended for more mature audiences who enjoy a book that gets them thinking.

Rating: On the Run (4/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author:

Helen Smith is a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain and English PEN. She traveled the world when her daughter was small, doing all sorts of strange jobs to support them both – from cleaning motels to working as a magician’s assistant – before returning to live in London where she wrote her first novel which was published by Gollancz (part of the Hachette Group).

She is the author of bestselling cult novel Alison Wonderland. She writes novels, poetry, plays and screenplays and is the recipient of an Arts Council of England Award. She’s a long-term supporter of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture and mentors members of an exiled writers group to help them tell their stories.

Her latest book is the dystopian thriller The Miracle Inspector.

Visit her website at http://www.emperorsclothes.co.uk.

Friend her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ emperorsclothes

Become a fan at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorhelensmith

Friend her at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2833648.Helen_Smith

Pick up a copy of The Miracle Inspector at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Inspector-Helen-Smith/dp/0956517056