Gabby looked at the woman she had hated nearly all her life. Then she sat down on the ladder-backed chair, put her face into her bloodied hands and cried.
To the outside world, Cynthia Tailor is a woman to envy; she has a devoted husband, a lovely home and two gorgeous children. But Cynthia is deeply unhappy with her lot; she has always craved the best things in life, and is determined to see that she gets them. Cynthia will let nothing stand in her way, even if it means devastation and tragedy for those nearest to her. And the casualties are many: her husband Jimmy, weak and unable to fight the wife he can never please; her sister Celeste, from whom Cynthia steals her most precious possession; and her parents, Mary and Jack, who pick up the pieces. But the victims who suffer the most are Cynthia's children. For James Junior and Gabby, the pain she causes will stay with them for ever...
Rating: 4 Stars
Positives: The Faithless is a glittering novel which shows how one person's determination can make or break a family. In the case of Cynthia Tailor, she has definitely broken her family. We watch as her story progresses from around the time her second child James Junior is concieved up until her daughter is a woman grown twenty years later.
At first Cynthia was a character who although I was unable to sympathise with her on any level, she had a glittering and dangerous draw to her. I could see why the character of Jonny Parker was so attracted to her, especially after that fateful night.
However as the story progresses we see Cynthia become a more toxic person, ruining the lives of those around her and eventually ruining her own life too. Nothing is ever good enough for this greedy woman who needs to be admired and have it all, she even feels the need to try and keep her grandchildren to herself and she doesn't know when to stop. Ultimately her selfishness causes the biggest tragedy of them all, and at this point I was in tears.
This was a very gritty read with characters who are easy to relate to, especially young Gabby. I loved the thrill of the gang culture that is shown within London; how hard Jonny finds it to stay at the top, how quickly Vincent wants to get back in the game after being in jail.
But more than that was Cole's ability to tie up loose ends. For anyone who thinks Bertie is just going to disappear, you're most definitely wrong. And boy is his return a spectacular one.
Negatives: Firstly I have to say that James Junior's first psychotic episode greatly disturbed me. At first I thought when Mary was concerned for the boy, that there might be a parallel to Lenny from Of Mice and Men. Both seem to be a little bit slow, and neither can fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. However this was thrown out the window when we find out what James is really capable of. Seriously how many nine year olds cut open the throat of the neighbours cat, making a young boy watch, all because they aren't allowed a cat of their own? And with a bread knife of all things? If I'm completely honest reading that made me want to throw up, and it unsettled my stomach for hours. Fair enough James' condition is later given to us as schizophrenia, but there really was no need to show just how disturbed he was as a child.
Secondly my pet hate with a book is when chapters start off at a decent length and become progressively shorter as the story develops. I'm not one hundred per cent sure why this is, but it really bothers me. I'll be the first to admit short chapters can work and be extremely powerful, a good example is the chapter where Cherie wakes Gabby letting her know the house is on fire. The chapter itself is only a page long and it works really well, but in general I'm not a fan of shorter chapters. They just don't help the story to flow.
Would I recommend this book? Yes I would, but if I were you I might gloss over James Junior's first psychiatric break, or at least not read that chapter around the kids. It's a little bit gory in ny opinion. Otherwise though this is an excellent read.
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