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The Abattoir of Dreams

By Mark Tilbury

The Blurb:

The past is never far away.

Michael Tate has not had an easy life. With his father in prison, and his mother dead, Michael was sent to Woodside Children’s Home.

Now an adult, Michael wakes up in hospital from a coma suffering from amnesia and paralysis. Confused and terrified, he is charged with the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, Becky. He also learns he attempted to end his own life.

Detective Inspector John Carver is determined that Michael is sent to prison.

With no way of defending himself, Michael is left in his hospital bed awaiting transfer to remand.

But then strange things begin to happen and his childhood comes back to haunt him.

Can Michael ever escape the past?

Will he ever discover the truth about Becky’s murder?

And why is DI Carver so eager to make him suffer?

The Abattoir of Dreams is a bitter sweet story of murder, innocence and abuse.

My Thoughts:

The abattoir of dreams is the third novel by author Mark Tilbury. I can start by saying that this book is nothing short of mind blowing!

I've sat down to write this review and i've started it over and over so many times as nothing i can think of to say or write seems adequate enough to stress just how much i love this story. It has placed itself firmly in my all time favourite reads, in a corner of my mind and in a little part of my heart.

So, where DO i start? Well, i'll start with the cover. It's not just the story that has the wow factor. It is eerie and haunting, a tunnel of dark into light, into hope. Beautiful, poignant and reflective of the story that lays beneath.

Now, the story itself. I can't begin to tell you just how amazing, heart stopping & gut wrenching this is. Especially when i tell you it is also full of sarcasm and dark humour. Genius one liners that will have you laughing out loud whilst you question yourself how that is possible when it is a story of such disturbing realities. All kudos to the authour here, it takes a special kind of talent to be able to orchestrate the perfect balance when dealing with this subject matter.

Mark deals exceptionally well with some truly difficult situations, including domestic violence, ritual abuse in the system and murder. Due to the nature of this, it makes for uncomfortable reading at times, but, it is so worth it.

Right from the start i was grabbed and drawn into Michaels' story. We meet Michael waking up in hospital. Paralysed from the waist downwards. Actually this is all he really knows as he has total and complete memory loss. It soon becomes clear he is in there under the watch of the police. Michael stands accused of murdering his girlfriend Becky, (in such a horrific way, it gives you goosebumps) then jumping off a building to kill himself. He almost succeeded. But Michael has far more in him than this. He is a young man with a quiet determination, even without knowing himself, he feels sure he's not capable of the atrocities of which he stands accused.

It is in the hospital where we are introduced to one of the most horrific, vile, revolting, vomit inducing characters that i have ever met. D.I. John Carver. Carver is a police officer, a person guaranteed to make your skin crawl and your face grimace as you try not to look whilst you read. Carver is the officer in charge of the murder case against Michael.

The story takes us on the journey with Michael, where his strong feelings stir up fragments of memory from his childhood to present day. His struggle to make sense of them and everything going on around him. His continuing fight for justice. The first third of the story takes us between the past and present. With the latter part on a continuous timeline.

I can't finish this review without mentioning Jimmy, Liam and Oxo. All characters in Michaels' story and all written with such depth and humanity. And each one as integral a part as the main characters themselves.

This is an exquisite, haunting novel, that is beautiful in its entirety.

I always ask myself the same few questions when finishing a book...Did i enjoy it? YES! Would i purchase it myself? YES! Would i recommend this book to a friend? OMG...Abso-frikkin-lutely! In fact, i already have been.

The abattoir of dreams is available to buy from February 28th 2017.

Can't wait for this one? Then why not treat yourself to the first two novels by Mark Tilbury, available to buy now from Amazon.

THE REVELATION ROOM - The Ben Whittle Investigation series, Book 1:

THE EYES OF THE ACCUSED - The Ben Whittle Investigation series, Book 2:

To pre-order The abattoir of dreams, or to purchase one of Marks other novels, just click on the picture and follow the link to Amazon.co.uk.

Mark Tilbury - Author Info

Mark lives in a small village in the lovely county of Cumbria,although his books are set in Oxfordshire where he was born and raised.

After serving in the Royal Navy and raising his two daughters after being widowed, Mark finally took the plunge and self-published two books on Amazon, The Revelation Room and The Eyes of the Accused. He's always had a keen interest in writing, and his third novel, The Abattoir of Dreams, is published on 28th Feb 2017 by Bloodhound Books.

When he's not writing, Mark can be found trying and failing to master blues guitar,and taking walks around the beautiful county of Cumbria.


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