Book review of The Owl Knows

CAMPING THRILLER

This is a modern western on the Eastern shore.

Sometimes while reading about an unknown place I always feel a map would be wonderful in understanding the progress of a novel. This should not be a tough proposition with interactive maps available on many travel sites. It would be a good idea to show a map and the movement of the cast in this novel.

The hero Johny saving the girl in a sports car stuck on a tree limb is a bit far fetched with the hickory logs bridge. Why did he not use the rope and pull her up instead of wasting time in building an unbelievable bridge?

Otherwise the book is fast paced and ideal material for a teleplay. With some good editing it can become even better. A map will make the reader’s job easier which will make it possible to orient oneself around Franklin and to under stand the Creeks Matlock and Compass and their relationship to other things like Bob Allison Camp ground.

The author I am sure is a young person who wants to fill in all the idealistic tales he can dream of. He also has certainly a love of wild life and a penchant for its poetic description.

Roy Owen throws a large number of characters on the canvas of his novel and then brings them admirably into a solved jigsaw puzzle conclusion. Racy stuff. Great for a long boring flight. The book gripped me after page 150 like a giant condor and took me on a thrilling ride on the Appalachian Trail.

This is perhaps a first salvo in a great career of future writing. I would have been happier if the author had given us more details of each character with some mannerisms. The novel then would have truly become alive.

Overall a great reading experience and a classic thrill a minute novel.