The End of Childhood (The Long Shadow Book 3)

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Jan 15, Breakaway Reviewers rated it really liked it. Ben Makepeace, a scriptwriter, lives in London. Divorced, and with a thirteen-year-old son living with his mother. He received a call from his agent, Stella.

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An offer has been made for one of his scripts by a businessman in Oxfordshire. After a scathing call from his agent, she manages to set up another meeting in London where he finally makes the acquaintance of his backer, Victor Sheldon. Sheldon is a hugely successful hedge fund billionaire, but Ben immediately sees that it is, in fact, somebody he knew twenty-five years ago. Sheldon is Jacob Hogg, a schoolboy who was at the same boarding school as Ben. Victor extends his friendship to Ben. The plot thickens from here on in It flows from present day to glimpses of the schooldays the boys shared together.

The present-day chapters count down gradually, by weeks and days, to an event at the climax of the book. The schooldays cleverly fill in the background and we are able to see the two characters form and emerge. Not in the immediate sense of the word. This book is slow to creep up on you. Mr Bumblebee Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review. Apr 07, Debbie rated it really liked it Shelves: This was a Goodreads first reads book that due to moving has taken me a bit of time to get around to reading. This was a really good read.

It flowed wonderfully, was at times quite dark yet funny and moving in places.

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It did move between times as a necessary part of the plot with the childhood of the two main characters being integral to what was happening in the present. It was obvious that something sinister was going on - but what and why? Lovely twist at the end. Jan 04, Sam rated it liked it. Definitely not my favourite and to be honest I didn't like Ben. I found him very cliched, failing script writer, who turned his back on his wealthy upbringing, but after some initial success, now heading into middle age divorced, almost penniless, living in a crap flat and seeing his son on occasions.

But then again, he was no more of a cliche than Mo, northern artist, Mike friendly v I'm a fan of Mark Mills' books, The Information Officer being my favourite, so I was very keen to read this one. I kept waiting for the twist to turn the story back on itself, but it didn't come. Not every book your favourite writers produce can be brilliant, so I'm holding out hope for Mr Mills next great creation.

Jun 03, Tamsin Braisher rated it liked it. Oct 23, Beth bibliobeth rated it liked it. What did I think?: I received a copy of this novel from Book Bridgr and Headline Books in return for an honest review so many thanks to them for the opportunity to read it.

I've never actually read any of Mark Mills' work before but a friend on GoodReads had thoroughly enjoyed his previous novels so I was quietly optimistic that I would enjoy it. The story revolves around two friends, Ben Makepeace and Jacob Hogg who became friends when at boarding school together. At that time, Jacob was a bit o What did I think?: At that time, Jacob was a bit of an isolated child with quite neglectful parents so made himself a second home with Ben's parents who began to look on him as a son of their own, revelling in his triumphs perhaps a bit too much for their blood son's liking.

At school however, Ben is everything that Jacob wishes he could be and there are many tumultuous years of competition, rivalry and secrets. Moving forward to the present time, Ben is recently divorced with a thirteen year old son, Toby. He is having a fairly unsuccessful career as a screenplay writer but gets the shock of his life when he receives a call from his agent telling him that a billionaire hedge fund manager wishes to invest in his work with the aim of making it into a film.

The Long Shadow

It sounds almost too good to be true but the biggest surprise is yet to come when Ben agrees a meeting with the wealthy man and it turns out to be his old friend, Jacob. He has altered his appearance, lives a lavish and enviable lifestyle and peculiarly, now goes under the name Victor Sheldon. Victor invites Ben to come and stay with him at one of his many houses, Stoneham Park where the two men re-connect and catch up on many years of history. Victor even offers Ben the job of managing his enterprises with an unbelievably large salary and reassures him that he is serious about making films from his written work.

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Ben may also have the opportunity of falling in love again, with Mo a sculptor on Victor's estate. Somehow, Ben cannot ignore the warning bells ringing - what is Victor's motive for all this generosity? With the story switching back and forward in time from the boys somewhat strained relationship at school to the present, where all Ben's wildest dreams seem to have come true, the reader must decide what is really going on here.

Is the long shadow over the two men's friendship from childhood just a shadow? Or, is there something a bit cleverer and malignant at work? On some levels, this story worked really well. I loved the parts where we heard about the boys school days and enjoyed comparing the character of Jacob then to the sharp and wealthy businessman with a different name that he had become.

I think my main problem was with the ending, to be honest. With all the tension that was built up, which was done very well by the way - I was expecting something a bit more explosive and revealing and what I got was a bit of a damp squib in reality, which was quite disappointing as it's obvious the author can write well. I also had problems with the relationship between Ben and Mo, for some reason it didn't really ring true and I didn't think Mo was as strong or as interesting a character as she had the potential to be.

Would I read another novel by this author? Yes, I think I probably would. I've heard that his first three novels are very good and he's clearly a talented writer, I'm afraid this book just didn't follow through for me with the ending. For my full review please visit my blog at http: Sep 25, Sid Nuncius rated it liked it. Not one of Mark Mills's best I have enjoyed some of Mark Mills's previous books and hoped that this would be as good.

Sadly, it isn't really. It was a light and fairly easy read but the plot is pretty silly and I had some reservations about the writing style, too. The plot revolves around Ben, a struggling screen writer whose script is accepted by a billionaire tycoon and so becomes swept into the glamorous world of the super-rich I won't say Not one of Mark Mills's best I have enjoyed some of Mark Mills's previous books and hoped that this would be as good.

I won't say more to avoid spoilers but it's pretty standard potboiler stuff and it isn't the remotest bit plausible.

There's nothing wrong with that, but it is far too long to be sustained by such a flimsy story. The writing is adequate but no more, and often rather lazy with stale phrases like "a dab hand at Mills is at pains to show us how much he knows - not always successfully - so we get lots of little vignettes which add nothing at all to the plot in which people play rugby and cricket "centre stump"? He also cannot resist telling us what he has just shown us, so after a bit of dialogue he has to say things like "He had successfully deflected the conversation away from the subject," when that was obviously the whole point of what I had just read.

This, and laboured references to literary and artistic works left me feeling rather patronised a lot of the time. Mark Mills is capable of much better than this. I'd say it was OK as a mildly diverting beach read but not much more. Nov 04, Alumine Andrew rated it liked it. Mills has been a favourite author for some time and I try and keep up with what he writes. This is a somewhat disappointing read given the tight prose and tense thrillers he has written before. The story is essentially about two childhood friends, Jacob and Ben, who lose touch as adults. In their early forties, Ben is a less than successful screenwriter.

He is coming to terms with his divorce and the shared custody of his son whom he dotes on and loves. All of a sudden he is offered a 'too good Mills has been a favourite author for some time and I try and keep up with what he writes. All of a sudden he is offered a 'too good to be true' option on a screenplay he is finishing and it transpires Jacob is back in his life. Jacob, now called Victor Sheldon, is offering to make movies from Ben's scripts, offering him millions of dollars in salary, asking him to head his philanthropic enterprises and go live in Victor's country estate.

Ben is overwhelmed and loving it. But as the story develops, so do Ben's doubts. Is it all too good to be true? Intercalated with the men in their forties are chapters where they appear as children. They had a conflicted relationship as children which seems to spill out into their adult lives as the novel progresses. Here is where it gets disappointing. As a reader you pick up on the fact that there is something amiss, but the tension is not tight enough to be a 'thriller', more like a mild annoyance. At nearly 30 years old, almost half the sample found themselves at the same socio-economic status as their parents.

The poor stayed poor; those better off remained better off.

And of those who started out well off, only 19 dropped to the low-income bracket, a fourth of the number expected. Almost none of the children from low-income families made it through college. Of the children from low-income families, only 4 percent had a college degree at age 28, compared to 45 percent of the children from higher-income backgrounds.

Among those who did not attend college, white men from low-income backgrounds found the best-paying jobs. At age 28, 45 percent of them were working in construction trades and industrial crafts, compared with 15 percent of black men from similar backgrounds and virtually no women. In those trades, whites earned, on average, more than twice what blacks made. After reading the beginning, I really wanted to know what had happened to Kevin to make him wish he was dead.

That gave the book credibility. That just seemed corny to me.

The Long Shadow by Mark Mills

Also, the plot drags on in the middle. I understand the author wanted to build his case for Kevin being taken over by the spirits. But for me it didn't work. Even Kevin keeps saying "I didn't invite them in! That seemed to be key to the spirits inhabiting the first "host", so I didn't get why they were able to get inside Kevin. The ending was disturbing.

The old guy gets away with two murders, and Kevin is now the "hauntee". I would have liked it better if Kevin was able to escape somehow and show up in maybe a second book or a whole series about the mishaps of Kevin the house flipper?? I think he's a likable character who could carry a few books that don't have to be scary, but he could find himself in interesting situations.

I din't find it scary at all. Maybe it's a YA novel? If so, I'd rate it higher. See all reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway.

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