‘Thirteen Stops’ by Sandra Harris is an interesting and quite different book. It took me a little time to settle into the book but once I did it was over way too soon.
There are thirteen Luas stops between Sandyford and St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin and vice versa. The passengers all hunker down, folded tightly into themselves, eyes fixed on their phones, interminably scrolling, terrified of connecting with each other. Except . . . Except, who’s that good-looking guy in the long dark coat who’s eyeing up selfie queen Laura? Could he end up as one of her terrible choices? Hang on, isn’t he the same guy who was ogling glamorous working-mum-with-a-secret Maroon before? And why is Jamie over there telling his life story to a complete stranger? What’s Fauve hiding in her handbag? It must be the crown jewels or an unexploded bomb at the very least, the way she’s hugging it so tightly to herself. And why does Becks from two seats down look out the window so anxiously? Is she worried that Barry could be straying? Alight here for the inside track . . .
A book that is brimming with unique and interesting characters. Every character on this journey gives us a glimpse of their story as we travel alongside them. As we discover, every character is linked in some way to the others. Each story is more or less self-contained so I found I could read it in bits at a time. This would make a perfect holiday read.
I did love being on everyone’s personal journey it made for a really entertaining read and I felt like I knew a little bit of everyone there. I will be waiting for the next book to see where it takes me again!
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Sandra Harris for the copy of this unusual book
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 