To quote from a review of An Uncomplicated Man got me thinking. “…the three main characters are horrible human beings, who I want nothing but bad things to happen to,” seems harsh until you look at them objectively.

Daniel wasn’t always a bad person. In fact, he was just the opposite before the book began. He was a mild-mannered bank manager, a loyal husband, an uncomplicated man – and then he met Arthur Braithwaite.

They would never have crossed paths if Daniel’s boss hadn’t ‘asked him for a favour.’ A favour that he couldn’t refuse. A favour involving Arthur Braithwaite, a local businessman whose middle name is ‘Dodgy.’ Along with his beautiful daughter Lucy, they manipulate Daniel to get what they want, which, in this case, is access to money.

Lucy is the real driving force behind the manipulation, using every asset she has to keep Daniel where they want him and she does this without caring who might get hurt.

So, Daniel is weak, but that’s no excuse because he knew what he was doing and he could have stopped the train and got off if he’d wanted to. He just didn’t want to. Not enough, anyway.

 Arthur is basically a criminal. He uses people to get what he wants.

And Lucy, well, I’m not going to lie, she is hideous. Without any shadow of a doubt, she is the least favourite character that I’ve ever created. She is manipulative and borderline evil. If I knew her, I’d detest her. That said, I really enjoyed creating her – the minx.

So, all in all, I would say that I completely agree with the (5 star) reviewer, the three main characters, really are horrible human beings.

AN UNCOMPLICATED MAN will be available shortly on kindle.