The Sacrificial Man: A review

There has always been something exceptional about the words written by author Ruth Dugdall.

The first time I met her, was at our local Felixstowe Scribblers writers group several years ago as she planned her first novel, ’The James Version’ testing the waters with selected parts of her manuscript. The resultant novel was a very good and highly recommended read.

Ruth’s style changed with her second novel when she introduced character, Cate Austin in ‘The Woman Before Me’, which showed a growing maturity in her style of writing. The story is still fresh in the mind and has become a memorable addition to her first work.

I’d like to think that I was one of the first to purchase Ruth’s latest novel ‘The Sacrificial Man’. This brought out a darker side to her writing prowess dealing so admirably with the traumas of its highly controversial theme of assisted suicide.

It highlights the emotions so well that one must keep turning the pages and reading just another chapter, then another chapter before putting it down. Despite the contentious subject matter, it really is a compelling read providing much well researched information into its story line.

If that is not enough, surprisingly one name and a single word conjured up personal memories for me. The mention of Jason Mitchell – who murdered my work colleague and friend, Arthur Wilson and his wife Shirley in their Bramford bungalow, and speedway, the sport that holds my lifelong interest .

I would like to congratulate Ruth on her ability to create such gripping storylines and wish her well with her next novel whenever that comes along. If you haven’t read ‘The Sacrificial Man’, or either of her first two novels then it is time you did!

Dave Feakes.