Comparing Scars (Dark Retribution Quarter) [Kindle Edition]

Comparing Scars is the second book in the "Dark Retribution" quartet by John Walker, and once again I found myself not only immersed in the book but feeling like I was woven into the story as an invisible character that walked along with Jake and Louise. Jake returns in this book as the main character and you see into his mind the moments of his life that made him what he is today.

While Louise and Jake bare their soul to one another, you find yourself watching him through his minds eyes as his past comes to life. The relationship that he once had with Jack Parrish in book one is now seen through his eyes instead of Jacks and you are able to understand how important Jack was to him as a role model.

The storyline of this book jumps from present to past quite often, filling in pieces of life's information that certain events and places trigger. As with "Wrath and Remembrance", the first book in the quartet, the author, John Walker gives you all the words you need to paint the perfect picture in your mind of the scene you are seeing, the emotions that are felt and the people who are involved.

Mr. Walker's ability to give such detail in clarity makes reading his book even more refreshing. You have the ability to sit back and watch the lives and the story unfold in front of you without having to try come up with a picture of the scene. He gives all of it to you in great detail.

This book was very well written and the plot line of the book was deep with an intensity that filled you completely at times. I look forward to reading the next book in the series "Hitting Back".

Comparing Scars is the second book of the Dark Retribution Quartet. If the first book, Wrath and Remembrance, hadn't been as good as it was, I would say that author John Walker hit his stride in book 2. The writing is even more lucid and fluid. Again the narrative is in the first person and told by a protagonist. Again we hear the authentic voice of a working class Geordie of Newcastle in Northeast England and we see the culture in which he develops. However, Jake Callan, like Jack Parrish in book 1, also has an artistic temperament, reads widely, writes stories, loves movies and music and develops a rare insight into the psyches of himself and others.

Callan is six or seven years younger than Parrish, but the two have three significant interactions in the course of book 2. Nevertheless, this is Callan's book. Like Parrish, Callan knows love, loss and suffering and like Parrish he finds a sort of redemption. Again this is religious fiction, but it is created with a deft hand. While it is key to the action, it doesn't overwhelm the story. Walker is weaving a rich tapestry. I look forward to seeing how what new threads he adds in books 3 and 4 and how they come together. It is clear that they will.