BOOK REVIEW: The Real Principal by Sheldon Peart

The Real Principal

Author: Sheldon Peart

Genre: YA Crime / Thriller
Publication Date: 14th November 2019

Book Description:

Seventeen-year-old Danny Easington is trapped in the down-town Kingston inner-city community of Zion City. His mother, whom he reveres admonishes him that education is the only means to escape the grunge and grime of ghetto life.

Danny's mother is hospitalized from a motor vehicle accident and he hurries to her bedside. With her last breath, she beseeches him to protect his ten-year-old sister, Jessica. Danny suspects that Jessica is being molested at home and steals away from school, to defend her. But in his haste, he is charged with a shocking murder.

Tim Browning and Natasha Parkinson, are Danny’s rich up-town friends. They are astounded, but insist on his innocence, because of his dutiful adherence to his mother's teachings. However, the evidence against him is damning.

In a display of unwavering friendship, determination and true grit, Tim and Natasha embark on a calculated mission to find the real killer and vindicate their friend. Unleashing unmatched investigative skills, the budding detectives uncover crucial evidence which the police cannot overlook. But who is the killer?

Detective Sergeant Junior Smellie is confident that he has the right man. But will the brilliant young detectives find that last stroke of genius to convince the police otherwise?

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

MY REVIEW

Danny Easington's life was going great until the sudden and tragic death of his mother. Being left with the responsibility of taking care of his younger sister, Jessica, he soon starts to suspect that her withdrawals is more than just her mourning for her mother and may have something to do with his stepfather, Mr Wedderburn, and his sudden interest in bonding with Jessica. Is the attention her father showing her more than fatherly love? Just as Danny thinks he has Mr Wedderburn where he wants him, his life takes a turn for the worse when he's arrested and charged for the brutal murder of one of his fellow pupils. With damning evidence pointing the finger at Danny, can he and his sidekicks, Tim and Natasha, use their intellect to discover the real culprit and set Danny free?

This is the second book I have read by Peart, and he certainly does have a way of grabbing the reader's attention from the very beginning with his intriguing premises. You get hooked to the story from start to end and I appreciated feeling as though I was part of the investigation, trying to solve the clues to unveil the real killer. I thought some of the characters could have been better developed as there was little known about them. There were also repetitive scenes that I thought could have done with some editing to make every situation relevant.

The book needs a good edit, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

VERDICT

Award: Silver

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Source: Author