Long Reach - Peter Cocks > Reviews (2)

About the book

Long Reach by Peter Cocks was the first in a new range of YA novels being released by Walker. It was released on 3rd January and is the first book in the Eddie Savage Thriller series. The book is 416 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Plot

Eddie Savage’s brother Steve had always been his hero, he looked up to him, so when his body is found, Eddie refuses to believe that it was suicide. Steve would never do anything like that…would he? The realisation that Steve had a life completely different from what Eddie thought it was makes him question everything he knew about his brother, especially considering that he was actually an undercover agent.

Knowing this, Eddie is desperate to be a part of it. His whole life changes. A new life, name, past and a new home mean Eddie is way out of his depth. Then comes his first assignment, making friends with the daughter of a crime lord. What has Eddie gotten himself into??

What I thought

Although not a book I would normally pick up myself, I was excited to hear about it and be offered it for review. I’m always on the look out for books I wouldn’t normally read to try and this one was definitely one of them. I loved the sound of it and what it was about so couldn’t wait to dive right into the story.

Eddie was a character that I liked immediately. It cant be easy under any circumstance to be told that your brother is dead, let alone to find out that you didn’t really know him at all so I was immersed quickly into Eddie’s newly complicated life. Thrown into a world he has no business being in, Eddie doesn’t quite realise just quite what he has gotten himself in to. Working for a government agency undercover sure sounds like a pretty cool job for a 17 year old boy but it is far from fun and games.

As his first assignment progresses, getting close to the daughter of a crime lord, Eddie’s confusion comes through clearly. As he gets to know some new people in his life, he begins to question everything he has been told about the people he shouldn’t trust. Are they really as bad as they’re made out to be or is someone lying? I really enjoyed watching Eddie try to cope with the new things and people in his life and how he tries to figure out who he can really trust. Throughout this aspect of the story, I really felt like I got to know Eddie well and the kinds of things that he believed in and wanted.

What was refreshing was to see that nothing was dumbed down. Being a YA novel, usually certain aspects or situation wouldn’t have been as fully described but Peter Cocks isn’t afraid to tell things exactly as they happen. I loved the inclusion of some quite violent and gritty scenes, making Eddie’s life seem extremely dangerous. Also, the use of British slang was a welcome addition as reading a majority of American books makes me miss some of our own colloquialisms. The use of British slang made the characters a lot more believable and real to me because they weren’t ‘fake’ teenagers.

I could picture these people in their settings and talking exactly the way that they did.

Long Reach is a fantastic start to what could be an even better series and one I will continue to want to read. Following Eddie’s life is fast paced and exciting with twists and turns all over the place. Each page was a new adventure and I couldn’t turn them fast enough to find out what would happen next. I will be extremely excited to find out more about Eddie’s adventures and how he copes in new situations. A great read and highly recommended.