Glass Houses – Jackie Buxton

The Last Word Review

Sometimes we act without thinking through the consequences, after all it will not happen to me it will always be someone else it will happen too. In her debut novel, Glass Houses Jackie Buxton has written a well-researched novel about what happens when one person’s actions have grave consequences for others around them.

The story follows Tori Williams as she comes to terms with the tragic consequences of her actions while sending a text message as she drove her car, the resulting crash caused the deaths of three people. People’s lives are forever changed. In a deeply thought provoking novel we see the immediate aftermath of the crash and how Etta one of the leading characters looks after Tori until the emergency services arrive and then the story begins to unfold as a number of other characters come into the story and how it has affected those families who strain as you can imagine. This at times is a moving and deeply effecting debut novel novel that is so well researched. Tori tries to rebuild her life despite the pressure she is under just think of the role of the media who place her under siege and the effect this has on everyone around her. The blame game is played out to the public and how the public perceive Tori and her role in the crash.

There are many themes that come into play in a novel such as Glass Houses, guilt, blame and recovery are seen through what I can only think of is a camera lens. There are many twist and turns that make this a well-structured novel that you will not want to put down in any great hurry. The one great aspect I found with Jackie’s writing is that she deliberately made each chapter short so in a book covering just under 500 pages there are many chapters which makes this an ideal commuter read. Because of the story line and the many themes, it covers I believe this would be perfect for any book group.

There is an ending to this story that I will not giveaway here, this is something you the reader should discover for yourself. I have to admit to really enjoying Glass Houses and its characters and their flaws which make them as normal as you and me. As I said at the beginning of this review, this could happen to anyone of us it is that real.

Thank you to Urbane Publications for the review copy.

Glass Houses by Jackie Buxton and published by Urbane Publications. Available through Amazon and through Waterstones and all good bookshops