Reviewed by The book Imp  - 01 Feb 2009

The story unfolds in Cairns, Australia; a tale of love, grief, violence and death, but throughout the words spoken by the narrator at the start, "Jack never meant to hurt anyone", should be kept at the forefront of your mind.

And while the grisly work of a murder evolves upon the beaches and the efforts of the police trying to solve the case persist among the tourists, hotels and town; the mind is the place that holds many more clues and a bigger chance of apprehending the criminal. That is - Jack’s mind.

Jack Firebrace has a strong will, so much so that he is able to control most aspects of his life, and influence the people around him without their being aware of it. He helps people by using a benevolent form of mind control. But perhaps this time his interference has set a train of events in motion that he did not anticipate, because people are dying in Cairns.

When I started this book I wasn’t sure where it was headed and it took me a while to settle down and give my attention fully. Once I had though I was gripped by the characters and relationships that unfolded.

The main story is a set of serial murders and the solving of the crimes but there are many other sub-plots woven in and around this main theme and all seasoned with a touch of the supernatural.

Although I think that the novel sometimes gets a little bogged down in places, in the end Rossi adeptly juggles the numerous stories and then catches them one by one and lays them out to form a complete tale, albeit one that does not quite finish, in this book at any rate.

I enjoyed my trip to Cairns, though I’m thankful I was only a spectator to the events.

To purchase Room 22 click on one of the following links :

http://www.zeus-publications.com/room_22.htm    AU$24.95

 http://www.eloquentbooks.com/Room22.html         US$9.99

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