Escaping Reality

Geoff Nelder

Brambling Books $10.99—228 pages

There’s a certain Donald Westlake quality to Geoff Nelder’s novel. Our hero, Gerry Ricketts has a touch of John Dortmunder about him with the exception that whereas Dortmunder usually did it, Ricketts did not. His imprisonment and subsequent jailbreak and flight across the moors is one of the funniest rollercoaster rides I’ve ever taken. Nelder’s punning is bad enough, but the “naughty bits” will double you over. Incidentally the naughty bits have nothing whatsoever to do with the sheep.

You must read the book to find out about the sheep, I’ll not breathe a word of it. Rest assured, you’ll be behind our lad all the way during his flight for freedom, cheering him on and cringing at the close calls involved. A knee-slapper of the first order and no mistake. Geoff Nelder is a writer to be paid attention to. I did the whole thing in one sitting and was furious when it was done. I wanted to keep reading!

—Jessie Lilley