Poetic Justice by Mark Tilbury @MTilburyAuthor 

Book Description:

Five twisted tales of murder and revenge.

Time doesn’t heal; it just incubates old wounds.

Last Orders – Jeff Tully’s wife has left him. Trying to run his pub single-handedly, he increasingly turns to his barmaid, Alyson, for help. But when Alyson tells him of her own troubles, they hatch a plan to get rid of Alyson’s violent, abusive husband. But will Jeff live to regret he ever got involved with his barmaid?

Lucy’s return – No one remembers Lucy at the school reunion, but she remembers them. Especially one boy who made her life hell, and now she’s going to do the same to him.

Private Museum – Retired nurse Mandy Rostron never thought she’d find love again after her husband died, but in Anthony Mallard she’s found the perfect gentleman. Or so she thinks. Mallard has some very dark secrets in his basement, or his Private Museum as he calls it, and Mandy is about to discover the truth about the man of her dreams.

Ballad of the Unsung Hero – Retired shopkeeper Jennifer Price is at her wits end. Her husband Kenneth thinks more of his fishing than he does of her. But when she meets the man of her dreams at a spiritual church, Jennifer is hell-bent on getting her man – whatever it takes.

The Tallyman – Donna is in debt, and the loan shark is making her life unbearable, with increasingly vile demands when she can’t make her payments. But her elderly neighbour, Elsie, has the perfect solution to get rid of the tallyman once and for all.

My Thoughts:

Having read and enjoyed all of this author’s previous novels, I was very intrigued with his latest book as it is a collection of five stories. Before each story, there is a poem which I thought was a great way of highlighting yet another talent of the author’s and added a little something to these gripping stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed each of these stories. They all focus on murder and revenge so had my interest from the start. Sometimes with shorter stories I can be left feeling a bit unsatisfied as sometimes I want or expect more from them but the author writes them to perfection so each one left me feeling complete although I could happily have sat and read another five stories as they were so good!

Each story will have you feeling empathy with the characters. Even though I wouldn’t say I wholly agreed with the way that some of them did things but it makes for great reading entertainment. One story in particular had me gasping out loud at the outcome and in one respect I wanted to laugh at how ironic it was but it’s also a stark reminder of being careful of what you wish for.

Poetic Justice is a wonderfully dark and gripping collection of stories that will both thrill and delight it’s readers. Each story will hook you in and have you wondering what you would do if you were in the characters shoes. The author is renowned for how twisted his stories are and I’m delighted to say he hasn’t let that slide even in this collection of stories. If you love enthralling stories that will take you by surprise with the added bonus of some wicked twists, then you have to grab yourself a copy of this book!