Book Review : All The King's Horses (Mantis Book 1) By Kyle Slade

Synopsis : 

Eight seconds is all it takes. Eight seconds for a man to die. Eight seconds for your world to change. 

On the fourteenth anniversary of his father's death, a mysterious stranger sits beside Charlton Creswick at the station. Moments later, the man throws himself into the path of an incoming train, but not before a letter falls from his pocket; a letter with a strange symbol connected to Charlton's past. 

Meanwhile, at an upscale rehabilitation clinic, a young soldier is being treated for memory loss. But when he examines the journal he has been keeping of his recovery, he discovers something impossible: he's been in two places at once. 

Before long, the two are bound together by a secret buried in time, and must navigate the complex relationship between a prominent and influential British politician, the enterprising criminal family that runs London's underworld, and a shadowy organisation that will stop at nothing to protect and continue their research. 

Review : 

First I want to say that I really like the synopsis. Unfortunately, the book fails to deliver. The story open good but after that it goes downhill from there. Nothing hook me. I just read because I want to know the mystery and what will happen next. The story is very slow and full of unnecessary scene. I try to read every one of it before deciding to skim most of it. The characters are not bad but two dimensional. I think there's no enough material to fleshed them out. The characterization feels random. I feel the ending is too rushed. I find that I have more question at the end than the beginning like who kill certain character and what's the motive. The last sentence certainly doesn't help. I understand that the author intend to make the sequel but I doubt the cliffhanger works. Certainly it doesn't work on me. But I may or may not check it out because actually the author have good idea. 

Rating : 3 of 5

Regards, 

Angela