Review - The House of Gentle Men

I am intrigued by the title of Kathy Hepinstall’s, The House of Gentle Men. This surely must be a fictional place! Seriously, I easily give this book a 5-star rating. To give any book a fair review, I look at the character, theme, plot, style and setting. I focus on the book’s purpose, content, authority, and I evaluate the quality meaning and significance of what I have just read. Hepinstall nails it on every level. She draws the reader into a setting of World War II where innocence is lost, crimes are committed, sins are atoned, and life goes on. The author succeeded in making me feel as if I am that fly on the wall of every scene who sees all yet cannot read the mind. On three occasions as I was reading, I literally gasped in reaction to my sudden understanding of the reasoning behind a character’s earlier action. Hepinstall cleverly leads the reader to pre-judge a character’s senseless action, then suprises the reader with a reasoning that makes perfect sense. The plot is well-developed and woven tightly. Kathy Hepinstall is an exceptional writer, and I can easily say that this is one of the best novels I have ever read. As Marvin Bergman says, “another magical book, brilliantly written, with emotional depth and insight.” If I was a writer, I would want to do it like Hepinstall. Visit www.goodreads.com