Book Review of Detours

Detours is the tale of a normal man’s life, but it’s not a normal story by any means.  Imagine one man living three different lifetimes – any of them as possible and feasible as the next.  It’s the story about how different – or similar – your life could be, if you’d only just made a different turn along the way.

The manner in which it’s written – almost as snippets of journal entries (or pieces of time) from each of those different lives – is absolutely captivating.  I found myself wanting to get through the entire thing, hoping for clarity and a resolution. 

There were many times as I was reading that I wished so badly to sit down and have a conversation with the characters of the story – at times to give them an unpleasant piece of my mind, others to scream at them.  Then there were the moments where I wanted to say, “I’m sorry.”  In that sense, those characters could’ve been a member of my family, or one of my friends.  The author ensures some connection to the characters, which is so very important.  And those characters are realistic with their many – and varied – flaws. 

If you’re looking for an engaging read, try it out, but don’t expect a book full of sunshine.  Personally, I’m looking forward to any future novels by Mr. McManus.

{Review by C.N. Miller}