Review – The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
Synopsis
If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?
In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It’s a book – an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door .
What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.
But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals – individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.
Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons – a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .
Because some doors should never be opened.
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Review
Everything comes full circle.
When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be about one thing – a young woman who finds adventure. Well, yes, she does, but this book is so much more than just that. It is filled with suspense, action, danger, magic, and friendship.
Cassie is a young woman who has had a somewhat difficult life. She lost her mother at a very young age and was raised by her Grandfather until he was gone, too. I feel like she is a bit of a lost soul and floundering to find her place until she befriends Mr. Webber at the bookstore where she works. He leaves her The Book of Doors. This book allows her to travel anywhere in the world as long as there is an unlocked door. Forget transporters from Star Trek; this is the way to travel!
I loved her adventures, but her friend, and roommate, Izzy, is concerned about what the book could do. Is it safe? Will they be harmed? One wouldn’t think so until we come across a bunch of book hunters who want these books for their personal gain. These individuals are not to be trifled with in the least. They are hard and ruthless. However, this is the full-circle comment I made. While I can’t divulge much because it would give away a lot of the story, we learn how these individuals came to be who they are today. It might be a bit of a surprise when you get to that portion of the story (last 30%).
While I thought Cassie was a good protagonist, there was a period near the end when I did not like her and thought she was wishy-washy and weak. After everything that she had gone through, to act the way she did was mind-boggling. However, she does redeem herself after that.
The story has a varied cast of characters. All add depth to the story, which makes it even more engaging.
I highly recommend this book and give it 5 paws up.
About the Author
Gareth Brown has been writing novels since he was a teenager. Most of those books were not very good and, thankfully, were never published. His first published novel – The Book of Doors – will be released in the UK (Bantam) and USA (William Morrow) in February 2024. Foreign language rights for The Book of Doors have also been sold to nearly twenty other territories, including Germany. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary.
When not working or writing, Gareth loves travel, barbecues, playing bass guitar, and watching snooker. He also enjoys falling asleep in front of the television like an old man.
Gareth lives with his wife and two Skye terriers near Edinburgh in Scotland.
