Book Reviews and More: Deathmire

Deathmire

Jon Mayhew

aka J.E. Mayhew

Franklin Watts a division of

Hachette Children’s Books

ISBN 9781445114668

eISBN 9781445114699

ASIN B00GU389MM

Over the last year I have read 20 works by Mayhew under the three names he publishes under. This is one of his earliest works and Jon Mayhew was the first name he used and uses it for Young Adult and some Middle Grade books. His most recent efforts are adult crime fiction under the name J.E. Mayhew and he has a fantastic urban noir supernatural series under the nom de plume Edwin Torr. Fans of this book would love the Torr works as well. This book is part of a series called Rivets from the Edge imprint, and are now part of Franklin Watts and Wayland Books. The description of the book is:

“Tom Striker is a mud lark, earning a crust foraging on the banks of The Thames for

anything worth selling. When his friend Billy goes missing, and he saves a man

claiming to be Old Father Thames, Tom and his friends are caught up in a battle

between powerful spirits.

This title is published by Franklin Watts EDGE, which produces a range of books

to get children reading with confidence. EDGE - for books children can't put down.”

This story is written for the Middle Grade or Young Adult audience. In many ways it reads like a modern version of a real Grimms’ fairy tale. It is a short read but not difficult. It ia an interesting story. And if it had not been part of this series in the UK, I could see it being part of the Guys Read series here across the pond.

The characters in this story are interesting. In this story you will find yourself putting together the pieces fairly quickly. And will be surprised at the turn of events. I can see this being a very popular read with the target audience. That being said it is well enough written that in my 50’s I enjoyed it greatly.

I have been working my way through all of Mayhew’s works. Writing short stories or novella’s is a very different skill than novels or even series. The righting needs to be tight, clean and crisp. Mahyew does an excellent job in this offering. An excellent read, a must read for fans of Mayhew or his alter egos. And a great read for anyone with a love of short form fiction with a dark edge!

Books as J.E. Mayhew:

DCI William Blake Series:

0.5 Tyger Tyger

1.0 A Poison Tree

2.0 Fearful Symmetry

3.0 The Bones of the Dead

4.0 Cruelty Has A Human Heart

5.0 All the Lies

6.0 Death's Cold Hand

7.0 No Time For Sorrow

8.0 Dark Visions of Torment

…