The Making of a Monster...

"Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mister Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target ...Victor Frankenstein. Friendship, trust and betrayal combine to form a dangerous liaison in this moving and frightening new book from Chris Priestley."

I have to confess to being a big fan of Chris Priestley's work long before I met him at various Bloomsbury events and realised what a true gent he is too. So when I was lucky enough to get hold of a proof of Mr Creecher a few months back, you can imagine, it didn't malinger on the bookshelf for any time at all.

It's a clever, clever story with the reader fretting for Billy from the outset as he struggles to survive in the mean streets and rookeries of  London in the early 1800's. Billy and Mr Creecher's relationship develops believeably, with a question mark hanging over both character's motives as they pursue Frankenstein. A gothic roadtrip with two of the most unlikely (and yet likely) travelling companions, Mr Creecher leads you to a satisfyingly tragic and chilling conclusion. You close the book in the full knowledge that things can only get worse for everyone concerned!

Mr Priestly blogs here and I preordered the book here.