His Bloody Project

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His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Reviewed by Omma
๐Ÿ“˜๐Ÿ“™๐Ÿ“•๐Ÿ“—

For a book set in 1869 with a strong historical setting, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I found myself staying up a few nights too! The story is about a 17 year old boy called Rodrick Macrae who admits to the brutal murder of 3 people and delves into the events that led up to it. The author's name initially led me to think it was actually based on a true story which goes to show how well written and smart his style of writing is. The way he begins the story with contradicting character statements and then the main characters own memoirs and later court transcripts was very different from
anything I've read before and it really pulled me in. I can see why such a piece was nominated for the Man Booker Prize (I'm not one to ever read prize-winning books btw). I also really developed a strong hate for Roddy's neighbour Lachlan McKenzie. Talk about a true POS on a power trip! A fictional crime thriller that will leave you thinking and coming to your own conclusions and wanting to discuss this with someone else. I love that a book has made me feel the way many of my favourite films have. Read it and tell me your thoughts!

Omma Ahmed

Iโ€™ve always loved reading as a kid because it was one of the few Asian-mum approved hobbies although she would have preferred โ€˜less novels and more school booksโ€™! I also grew up in the Harry Potter era so thatโ€™s when I really remember falling in love with reading. (Big up my Y7 English teacher for reading a few pages of Philosophers stone at the end of every lesson! You were a real one Mr Williams!) I love being part of this book page (even though I slack massively due to lack of energy and concentration!) because sometimes it felt like a lifeline to help keep me sane. We started it during the time I was feeling really shitty about my Crohnโ€™s disease. Itโ€™s been a tough 7 years and the last 3 have probably been the hardest especially mentally so when Linda suggested putting this page together, without hesitation I was down and Iโ€™m so proud of us! Writing reviews helped me to organise my thoughts and even resulted in me creating a second Instagram page (@AnOstomateForLife) about my Crohnโ€™s journey. Yes that was a shameless plug and Iโ€™m not sorry! Along with reviews, Iโ€™ve also loved the creative side of things such as having input in our logo, creating our bookmark and taking book pictures even though itโ€™s awkward af in public! So a few of my fave books: The Godfather by Mario Puzo (made me love the film even more! Iโ€™m a self-proclaimed movie buff too btw), Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Healy, The Harry Potter series (obviously), Jemima J by Jane Green, Moonlight over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan, Whereโ€™d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple and We Should All Be Feminists Chimamanda Adichie.

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