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I was given this book by the author in return for an honest review and as a member of Rosie Amber’s Review Team

I gave Bedsit Three 4* of of 5*

The Blurb: (I actually like this blurb; it makes for intrigue without giving anything away)

A girl has been buried in a shallow grave. Rain starts to wash away the earth covering her.
Why have Ignatius and his girlfriend disappeared from Bedsit 3 in dingy Vesey Villa?
Why has he left behind a used pregnancy test and a scrap book about a woman’s suicide in a cardboard box?

Ignatius is desperate to get the contents of that box back and, after the mysterious loss of both his mother and his girlfriend, he’s searching for someone else to ‘love’ in his own special way. The events that follow devastate several lives …

Every mother tries to do her best for her child. But sometimes that ‘best’ creates a monster. You decide whether the evil within Ignatius is nature or nurture.

Bedsit Three is a tale of murder, mystery and love. It won the inaugural Wordplay Publishing/Ian Govan Award and was shortlisted for both the Silverwood-Kobo-Berforts Open Day Competition and the Writing Magazine/McCrit Competition.

Michael Barton, Founder and Managing Director of WordPlay Publishing said of Bedsit Three, “This novel is well-constructed and well-written. But it’s also far more than that. It’s a book that elicits emotional reaction, drawing the reader into the story and placing him or her in the middle of the action page after page. Be prepared for a sleepless night, because you won’t want to put it down until you get to the end.”

Bedsit Three is set in a fictional part of north Birmingham in the UK. It is a thrilling why-dunnit which twists and turns its way to a shattering finale! No one knows what goes on behind closed doors or in the darkest corner of our minds. Sometimes the threat is too close to home …

My Review:

 I really enjoyed this novel, it’s a good psychological thriller that steadily builds in tension until the end. 

Sally Jenkins’ style of writing is easy to read without being cosy. Her words take the reader steadily through the plot without revealing too much, yet there is also subtle foreshadowing. .

The main characters are well portrayed: the single mother, Sandra, with a young daughter, the new occupant of bedsit three, Ian, a middle class, unemployed man, separated from his wife and son, desperate to be reunited with them. And then there is the former resident of bedsit three;  the mentally disturbed  Ignatius Smith, evicted and living nearby in his car. The author gradually reveals the actions and thought processes of each of these people. And  I liked how the two”off the scene” characters associated with  Ignatius Smith were revealed.. And, no, I won’t say any more about that!

 My only disappointment in the whole of this book was with the dialogue. Sometimes, with all of the characters, I thought the dialogue was stilted (perhaps a little contrived?) and didn’t fit their portrayed personalities. Every now a then a section of speech felt as though it was there, not so much for exposition, but for explanation to the reader. Hmm, does that make sense? .

The main setting is Vesey Villas, an old house separated into cramped bedsits. The descriptions of the building are evocative and gives a good sense of place; of seedy, uncared-for rooms. In fact each setting that the characters move around in is well depicted

Bedsit Three has a good, progressive plot, the story is equally shared between the three main characters and was gripping enough to  keep me reading almost in one session. Personally I was a little disappointed with the ending. But this wasn’t because of the writing or the way the plot evolved; it was because I wanted a different ending. I need to stress this was purely personal and gives credit to the writing of Sally Jenkins. So ignore what I’ve just written. You could always find out what I mean by buying this great book.

 Bedsit Three is for anyone who enjoys a well written contemporary  psychological thriller. 

Buying links:

Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/2bOZQYY

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/2c5OrG4