Book Review: The Weatherman | Royston Reeves @randomttours @royston_reeves

A read-in-one-sitting thriller that will have you in a chokehold wondering if and how it will resolve. The Weatherman by Royston Reeves will take you through a nightmare scenario and have you wondering what you would do to escape it.

About the Book | The Weatherman

‘I’m going to tell you about the worst thing that ever happened to me.’

Will’s a nice guy. So when he takes a shortcut to the tube station after a few beers with his mates from work, he steps out of the way of the fellow who’s staggering towards him. But he – deliberately – moves back into his path. They knock each other as they pass.

Moments later one man is dead and another’s life is changed forever. Or is it? There are no CCTV cameras. There was no one else in the out-of-the-way alley. Maybe the world doesn’t have to end for Will after all.

But there’s always someone watching . . . and Will’s life is about to implode. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | The Weatherman

What is the thing you’re most afraid of and what would you do to avoid it?

This book is an absolutely wild read from start to finish! It kicks off with the worst thing that has ever happened to main character and narrator Wilbur (Will) Cox. Will works an average job at an average advertising firm in London. He’s out with the lads from work one night at a pub and leaves just before the game ends, taking his usual shortcut to get to the train station.

He sees a man staggering towards him and does his best to veer out of the way to give him space. But the man goes straight towards him, shoulder checking him and uttering an insult his way. Will can’t help himself, he reacts by throwing a punch at the man’s face and seeing him go down. While he initially goes to leave, he can’t help but turn around to make sure the man is ok. But when he tries to rouse and help him up, he notices a pool of blood under the man’s head and a quick pulse check reveals the man is dead.

Will staggers home, terrified by what just occurred and the potential consequences he may face. He takes some medicine to help him sleep and passes out. When he wakes the next morning, he realizes he is very late for work and even worse, the news is broadcasting the news of the murder. Will jumps to action, getting rid of the clothes he was wearing and returning to the scene to check for CCTV camera footage.

When the police come by his work, Will is petrified that they caught him. But it appears Will may have lucked out, the two cameras directly towards the alley were broken, and another man has been arrested for the murder. In the days following the incident, Will does his best to put it out of his mind. He even meets a girl, Ellie, who he’s interested in. Everything is coming up in Will’s favor, or is it?

Will is digging through his wallet, looking for cash to get fish and chips and he finds a flash drive and a note. Someone knows what happened. He rushes home and the flash drive contains a video of the incident. Will’s head is spinning—how did someone get this footage? And who is it? Furthermore, what do they want?

Will doesn’t have to wait long before he finds out the answer to the first two questions. A man named Solly who looks like a seedier version of the weatherman from television gets in touch with Will. At first, Will thinks maybe Solly really won’t turn him in. It isn’t clear what exactly Solly wants by getting in touch with Will about a recording he allegedly took accidentally. But one thing is clear, Solly has an agenda and Will needs to find out what it is before he ends up in prison.

This story is action packed and when I said it had me in a chokehold, I meant it! The plot was so tense I could barely breathe while reading it, desperate to know if it would resolve and how. Reeves puts the reader close enough to what Will is going through that even if the reader wouldn’t have made the same actions or choices, it was easy to see how he became trapped in this labyrinth that he couldn’t escape from.

The police are very interested in continuing to talk to Will, and this added another layer to the story. It wasn’t simply that Solly had the tape, but it was also the knowledge that the police were still actively gathering information on the murder, even though they had a suspect in custody.

Solly was a grotesque figure. When Reeves describes him, the reader will get a jolt of revulsion at the greasy, slimy, decayed look of Solly. He’s a funhouse mirror version of the weatherman from tv. In fact Will at one point considers whether it could possibly be the same man gone to seed, then quickly dismisses it.

Though I often felt physically disgusted by Solly, I was also fascinated by him. It felt like Will was having an ongoing negotiation with Rumpelstiltskin, constantly circling around into another game, never sure what Solly’s ultimate goal was. And ultimately, that became the crux of the story. Solly had a hold hanging over Will that only outthinking and understanding what Solly was truly trying to achieve through these games might help. Solly is such a slippery figure, shifting constantly each time Will would try and resolve things or get to the bottom of what was happening.

I recommend this book to readers who like a psychologically tense and fast-paced novel. I was hooked from the first chapter. Reeves keeps the story tight, with no extraneous scenes. Will’s story covers months, starting the night of the murder and progressing through into the new year. Some phases show the police more interested in talking to him, and others focus more on Will and Ellie’s relationship plus Solly. Will is keeping a lot from Ellie, and he likes the distraction and normalcy she brings, while knowing he isn’t being his most authentic self with her. Solly and his interactions were terrifying and fascinating.

The spiral towards the conclusion had me glued to the book. This is a story for readers who like twists and turns in their novels!

Thank you to Ann from Random Things Book Tours for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Book Tour | The Weatherman

About the Author | Royston Reeves