#Gimpy #NetGalley
Thanks NetGalley, Bluewater Publications and John Wilde for an ARC to review.
I so wanted to like this book but I am sorry to say I didn't. Don't let my opinion stop you though, maybe you would enjoy it.

I thought this book would be exciting or at least interesting. It could have been if it was written better. I wanted to like Jimmy, but the lack of description made me not care about him. There were major mistakes, typos and wrong words, for example- their instead of there. I hope editing will be done before the final print. The ending lacked even more. No emotion and it was as if the author just didn’t care enough to write an exciting or at least interesting story.
I’m sure there will be readers who will like this book, but I sure didn’t.

This book is weird in the best possible way. It is an unlikely plot with a decidedly odd main character and the book itself takes the reader on a tour through different aspects of a person’s life experience. I really enjoyed this book - it’s great to have something a bit different which is well written features fascinating characters and excellent dialogue. Highly recommend this to anyone who wants to expand their reading experience.

This is my review of Gimpy by John Wilde. Many thanks to Blue water publications and Net galley for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a fair an honest review. There may be spoilers in this review.

Gimpy tells the story of a young boy in rural USA, at the end of the second world war, who has an accident and later wakes to find he has a deformed leg and the strange ability to forecast the results of sports games.
We follow Gimpy through his formative years, to University and employment as an apprentice sports reporter with the local paper. His predictions ensure his fame grows and he is head hunted by a large gambling operation.

I found the era and the plot interesting. There are any number of Mafia books that concentrate on the career criminal. However this book shows how a nice country kid can end up caught in an organisation like the Mob.

Unless I missed something, which is very possible. I thought the prologue was not very relevant to the main part of the story.

When I first began to read the book I thought the setting very "moms apple pie and picket fence, God bless America, Bedford Falls, Forrest Gump," type of place. Very sort of sickly sweet and I didn't know if I would enjoy the book if this was to be the experience throughout the whole book. Luckily we take a darker turn later on. So if your not feeling it in the first third of the book, keep going.

The pacing was brisk although the writing could have benefitted from from more descriptive passages. For instance the turning point in the book when Gimpy discovers his new talent is brushed over in a few quick sentences. I also happen to be reading Silas Marner but George Elliot. The turning point in that is when Marler is robbed. Elliot goes on to describe over several pages his emotions and thought processes, with several similes and metaphors with the result that we feel we have been on an emotional rollercoaster. I just think the author could wring more emotion out of certain situations. The ending too seemed to be covered too quickly. (NB I was hoping he would dodge the Feds go back and buy the newspaper and become the new Phil Rabel!)

Also think the author could have been more descriptive with the characters physical features and dress..

Also noted a couple of grammitcal errors.
8% in. There Oldsmobile should be their Oldsmobile
20% in. Drug by should be dragged by (past tense of drag)

These minor issues not withstanding. I enjoyed the book once I got into the writers style and would recommend the book to friends who an interest in 50s America. I was hovering between 3 stars (OK) and 4 stars (good) but the unusual subject matter and time period swung firmly into 4 stars category.