First, I want to open with the fact that this book was
totally NOT what I’d been expecting. I backed Sharon Hope’s debut novel Tainted
Jewel on Kickstarter knowing only that it was a crime drama, but I’d not been
prepared for the drama part.
It opens slow, giving a sense of time passing where we
establish some of the major characters, and only after reading the book twice
did I pick up on the foreshadowing, which gave me many ‘oh my god I know what
that means now’ kind of moments.
I hadn’t expected it to follow the main character’s life so
succinctly. Normally, things like this turn me away from a story, and yet I
found myself reaching chapter three, chapter five, and finally to chapter ten
when I realised I was hooked on Kate Riley’s life.
I want to say Tainted Jewel is a rollercoaster, but imagine
the tracks are marred with obstacles and many of them are put there by our beloved
Kate and the criminal world she’s becoming embroiled with. And just when it
seems like she’s getting things in order, life throws a curve-ball and her
reactions to most of these are relatable and understandable. But so is her
eventual deterioration, and it was at this point in the story that I realised
that anything could happen. This kept me turning to the very end, of which I
was more than satisfied with.
It does have an ending, but part of me just doesn’t want to
believe it’s over. I feel like there’s another story in there somewhere!
In closing,
Tainted Jewel is not your run-of-the-mill story, and for a
debut novel it’s impressive. Sharon’s writing style is blunt and to the point,
giving you the scene as it comes and this lends realism to the environment, as
well as to the characters who we follow through this ordeal. I’d recommend this
story for anyone on their travels, because it can be put down and picked back
up without losing your place. It’s low complexity, easily remembered, and a
real page-turner.
