Book Review | Dishonoured by Jem Tugwell

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About the Book

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WE’RE ALL ONE MISTAKE FROM RUIN…  

Dan has worked hard for the perfect life. He has a loving wife, beautiful kids, a fabulous home and is a successful businessman.  

One afternoon Dan steps onto his usual train and sees the waitress who served him an hour earlier. It all seemed so normal, but it was the most dreadful mistake. Four stops later, Dan is a criminal who has lost everything. He’d only just met her, so why did she destroy him—and why did she say ‘Sorry’?  

Dan battles through a web of lies and deceit to clear his name and win his life back, but first, he needs to find out who plotted his downfall. 

Purchase Links  

• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55571673-dishonoured 
• Waterstones – https://bit.ly/2Gnc9Od 
• UK Amazon Kindle – https://amzn.to/36iWAlU 
• US Amazon Kindle – https://amzn.to/3ibWxKP 

Goodreads’ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dishonoured is a high-octane novel that will keep you guessing from beginning to end.

What I Liked

Through the eyes of the main character, Dan Mendoza, the first person narration lent itself to keeping a fast pace and high levels of suspense.  Add to that the short chapter lengths and the pages fly by without pause.  I enjoy a good story that pulls me in and a quick pace that goes by even faster as I long to find out who the person who committed the crime is.

My favorite character is Anomaly, aka Emika Hunt.  Every good psychological thriller has that one character who is calm in the middle of the storm, and in this story, Anomaly is that character.  She is only a support character, but she is developed with such an enigmatic finesse that she instantly comes to life.  She is smart and determined, is full of all sorts of OCD traits, and does not shy away from learning the truth.  She is a character worthy of her own story.

I loved that everybody in Dan’s life can be considered a suspect, and the potential storylines as to why for each character- from corporate espionage to personal vendettas.  The story has it all and, since you discover the people and reasons through Dan’s eyes, it never seems contrived or forced.  Of course, all those suspects led to a nice twist at the end and then another and another.  My only wish is that all those twists had been more streamlined instead of making the conclusion convoluted and drawn out.

I love that the story stays focused on the mystery at hand. It does not get sidetracked with Dan’s emotions or by delving too much into the past.  It instead stays very present and in the moment.  This makes it much easier to follow, which, in turn, helps create the suspense that I crave as a lover of psychological thrillers.

To Read or Not to Read

Dishonoured is a great read that, for me, is reminiscent of John Grisham’s early novels with all the intrigue,  potential corruption, and a sizable legal aspect.

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About the Author

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Jem Tugwell was born in Berkshire and Dishonoured is his first psychological thriller. 

Jem’s first two critically acclaimed novels, Proximity and No Signal are exciting crime fiction novels set in the near future, featuring DI Clive Lussac and his partner Zoe Jordan. 

Jem has a Crime Writing MA from City University, an MBA and a BSc in Computer Science and in a past life, Jem had a successful career in IT and investment management. Jem’s loves are snowboarding, old cars and bikes. He lives in Surrey with his wife and has two children. 

Social Media Links –  

• Jem: http://www.jemtugwell.com/  
• Twitter: @JemTugwell 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JemTugwellAuthor/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jemtugwellauthor/
• Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jem-tugwell
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5383904.Jem_Tugwell
• Serpentine Books:   www.serpentinebooks.com  
  • Twitter: @SerpentineBooks