One for Sorrow ...
Author: Sean-Paul Thomas
Publisher: Paul Thomas publishing; 3 edition (December 22, 2013)
Publication: December 22, 2013
Pages: 146
ebook
ASIN:B006BZ1FTI
Language: English
Jacket design: Andrew Cairns
Author photographer: A friend
"This book was provided by Sean-Paul Thomas in exchange for my honest review alongside my proffered thank-you for asking."
4 Stars
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| Sean-Paul Thomas & Benjamin |
Jason and his partner, Gary, opens this tale in Glasgow's Easterhouse with getting business done. Five men, graphically met their doom in a garage and with the men's briefcase in hand, which was filled with wads of cash and a couple of small bags of various drugs and pills, Jason and Gary sped off into the night.
After dropping Gary off, Jason dials an acquaintance, Brad McDermont. He is the son of Jason's father's best friend Ned. Asks a favor ~
'... in Edinburgh earlier than expected with ... you know ... the package.' ... 'Can I drop this package off at your place on the way home? Then you can pass it on to my dad first in the morning.'
Sure thing.
Brad has an agenda that has been cultivating for some time. Ned went to prison for a murder Jason's father, Tommy, actually committed. Tommy told Ned that he would take care of Brad 'like his own son' until Ned got out. Way before Jason was even a twinkle in his eye.
Tommy always wanted Jason to take over his sleazy empire, but, after some rebellion on Jason's part, Jason took off into the army and traveled the world. Tommy turned to Brad as the heir.
Jason returned and that brought an uneasiness to Brad and that's probably putting it lightly.
'Why don't I swing by your place to pick up the package instead?', Brad asks. Sounds perfect to Jason.
Jason gets home and here is where this tale takes flight. Comes home and finds his pregnant wife in bed with another man - his father. An ocean of red was all an eye could see after Jason emptied his gun into them. After realizing it was all said and done he tried to take his own life - there were no more bullets left in the gun. Image flash - a remote cottage in the countryside.
Traveling to the Scottish hillsides with the briefcase sitting in the passenger seat, he passes a gorgeous hitchhiker. No relations for quite the while and horny as all get-out, Mmm - no, he'll stop thinking with his dick and get to his destination. A cottage that had belonged to his Uncle in a time almost forgotten.
Running from his recent crimes and reflecting and reminiscing on his past tragic life, Jason started thinking of the future. Wanting the finer and simpler things life could offer.
The next morning Jason jogged along a dirt track leading away from the cottage and notices a woman lying stretched out at the bottom of the hill. Groaning and drifting in and out of consciousness, the woman was carried back to his cottage. The Hitchhiker.
Not knowing her own name, Jason names her Haley. Haley's enigmatic character was well written throughout this harrowing tale. This gorgeous woman and Jason will take you on a ride.
Even though this tale takes off from the beginning with great writing to keep you flippin' pages, from here till the end of the read you'll want to have no distractions. The tale is a great story. Full of graphic descriptions that are so graphic, it will sate any personal psychological morbid need a Reader has to quench their thirst of the dense macabre.
The pace is rushed and slow and ... anticipatory - in the right places.
The character development was pretty damn good. You just might want to start 'rooting' for Jason and hope things go well for him. Same with Haley. Then, he is a murderer so you might not want to. The hitchhiker Haley? ... well -
As I had mentioned, some of the scenes were so graphic and described so well - hell, you could smell blood, feel excruciating pain, actually see the freezer's contents, and while your squirming around reading this tale you better go and take a minute and check to see if your front door is locked. (Check the back door too) Very graphic folks, very graphic. When Jason's partner, Gary, arrives on the scene ... wow.
Jason wants to help Haley to get away from all this hell in the worst way, 'cause he's falling for her and, no spoiler here, he does. Oh he helps her alright.
The setting in the North Western coast of the Scottish highlands played very nice for this book. Mr. Thomas wrote of the surroundings beautifully and I must say did a beautiful job incorporating them with the characters demeanor during certain events and emotions through the story. A good way of putting the reader in the midst.
Many reviews went out describing run-on sentences and misspelled words and hence, low ratings.
My rating was due to the ending. Had nothing to do with an editorial look at the tale. Seemed to me the author had better things to do and left the reader guessing on what happened to some of the characters.
Okay folks, here's how this story ends without giving it ~ Jason and Haley have a lovely departure from each other and now Jason sees the bad guys arriving; to end everything?
The two thugs looking for the money - did they get Big Mac's or Burger King?
The Weasel - Brad happy with him? Not?
Brad - Kingpin now? Or?
Jason - um ... ? Talk himself out of his situation, once he got to his destination? Did he?
Man, 5 Star writing until ....
All in all, Ugly Beautiful is an utterly riveting dynamite read folks. A drama filled with psychological twists and turns and wow ... what a perfectly sick and graphic tale of a gangster wanting to go clean and a multi-personality serial killer wanting to be free from the hell. It really is a good read ....
I still recommend reading this quick tale, maybe as a Reader you could come to your own sick and morbid conclusion. I did.
No. I am not going to tell you how my ending ends. Get the book, read the book - comment. I'll reciprocate.
Love the jacket design - you?
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Here's where you can get your fingers on Ugly Beautiful:
- Amazon ~ Kindle $2.99 ~ Paperback $7.99 USD
- Barnes & Noble ~ NOOK $2.99 ~ Paperback $7.99 USD
- IndieBound ~ Support your local book stores
About the author:
Born to Irish and Scottish parents, Sean spent most of his childhood and teenage years growing up on the move in the likes of Cyprus, Germany, Wales and England as an army brat. With a keen interest in both reading and writing he was diagnosed with the travel and writing bugs very early in life.
Now, writing, reading and traveling are his main passions, but he also loves outdoor sports too from Rugby and Hiking to Tennis and Boxing.
His main inspiration for writing today come from living in such a beautiful, Gothic and hauntingly inspiring city such as Edinburgh. This charming wee town has given Sean so much amazing inspiration to write the more time he spends there.
So far he has two published works of fiction - The Universe Doesn't Do Second Chances and Cafe Independence. And four self published novels: Sarah Smiles, Alone, Ugly/beautiful, & Lust for Life
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Visit Sean-Paul Thomas at
Visit Sean-Paul Thomas at
One for Sorrow
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told.
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a bird,
You must not miss.
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told.
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a bird,
You must not miss.
A common modern version - Of course there are considerable variations in the lyrics used here.
One for Sorrow is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies one sees determines if one will have bad luck or not
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