I know that some authors do not like the Review section on the likes of Amazon and Goodreads – and yes, I know that some reviews can be offensive – but by, and large, I like them. Not because I am fortunate in receiving lots of positive ones but because a lot of people put thought into their reviews.
That has certainly been the case with my latest DCI John Blizzard novel The Informer (The Book Folks, a Joffe Books imprint), which has some big themes – the power of AI in the wrong hands, the dangers of hate speech, the risks of social media wrongly used, the consequences of under-investment in public housing areas, the ability of a single voice to carry many supporters with it.
I am not preaching – the themes are very much part of the story – but I would like readers to think about such subjects and what has pleased me is the way that so many reviewers have taken them on board and offered their own viewpoints.
That’s good, thoughtful reviewing. Readers have the right to express their views of a book and, what’s more, an author can learn from negative reviews.
So to those 659 people who either took the time to write reviews or offered grading (4.6 out of 5 on Amazon, so far), allow me to say thank you.
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