Miss Gomez and the Brethren.

Miss Gomez discovers the Church of the Brethren of the Way in Jamaica in a paper left behind by a client at a brothel in London. She begins corresponding with them and eventually ends up on the desolate Crow Street, doomed for demolition. She is convinced that a sex crime is about to occur between Alban Roche, previously incarcerated for sexual misdemeanors, and Prudence Tuke, daughter of the owners of the Thistle Arms. No one listens to Miss Gomez when she intervenes and tries to prevent the act with prayer. When Prudence doesn’t return that night a huge investigation takes place.

There was a little too much preaching in this one for me. Miss Gomez, once converted, tries endlessly to convinces others to join her church. It’s main concentrated in one section of the book, but that was more than enough. Because if it, it took nearly a month to finish!

The writing is delightful though. Very funny and descriptions are original. The omniscient point of view is also well used, adding thoughts from random people passed on the street or updates on characters only briefly involved in the plot. It gives the story a profound sense of realism.

The plot is really interesting and characters well developed. Miss Gomez goes from being the sole survivor of a horrific fire to a disturbed child at an orphanage in Jamaica to a hooker in London to a fanatic Christian trying to save people. Prudence’s mother, Beryl Tuke, is a gin-guzzling, sappy romance-reading, promiscuous woman. Alban Roche is a man deeply disturbed by incest.

It certainly makes for an interesting read and Trevor’s style is great. I’ll have to read some of his other works.

~ by Mamo on April 17, 2008.