Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek by Anthony O’Neill – Book Review

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek by Anthony O’Neill – Book Review

Dr Jekyll and Mr Seek by Anthony O'Neill

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek

Author – Anthony O’Neill
Publisher – Black and White Pub
Pages – 256
Released – 1st September 2017
ISBN-13 – 978-1785301315
Format – ebook, paperback
Reviewer – Stacey
I received a free copy of this book
Post contains affiliate links

 

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Continues…

Seven years after the death of Edward Hyde, a stylish gentleman shows up in foggy London claiming to be Dr Henry Jekyll. Only Mr Utterson, Jekyll’s faithful lawyer and confidant, knows that he must be an impostor – because Jekyll was Hyde. But as the man goes about charming Jekyll’s friends and reclaiming his estate, and as the bodies of potential challengers start piling up, Utterson is left fearing for his life … and questioning his own sanity.

This brilliantly imagined and beautifully written sequel to one of literature’s greatest masterpieces perfectly complements the original work. And where the original was concerned with the duality of man, this sequel deals with the possibility of identity theft of the most audacious kind.

Can it really be that this man who looks and acts so precisely like Dr Henry Jekyll is an imposter?

Review

Beginning Seven years after the ending of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which Mr. Hyde was found dead, meaning that Dr. Jekyll must of been dead too, as they were one and the same. A man claiming to be Dr. Jekyll has taken up residence in his old home. All of his old acquaintances believe the story of where he had been for the last seven years, all except Mr. Utterson, who knew him well as his friend, and lawyer.

Mr. Utterson was within days of become the sole beneficiary of the Dr. Jekyll estate and now some charlatan has arrived looking, sounding, and acting like his old friend, but he was one of the only people to know that Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll were the same person, and that as Hyde is dead, then Jekyll is too, meaning that this man is most certainly an impostor.

Utterson makes it his mission to discredit the forger. After trying the police with no luck, he then visits his friends, one by one, but it would seem none of them agree with him. Doing many thinks out of the ordinary, for such a usually sane man, is Mr. Utterson right and this man is an impostor after stealing Dr. Jekyll’s estate, or has his desire to claim the estate for himself made him not be able to see that this man really is his friend?

I haven’t read the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but this book has given me the desire to go back and see where the story begins. At only 256 pages it was a quick read. It flowed beautifully with a wonderful plot that I’m sure Mr. Stevenson would of been proud of. It had me hooked right from the first page.

As daft as it may sound, this book reads as nice as it looks, and feels – there is a softness to the book that makes it feel lovely in your hands. Told you it sounds daft!

The story is told from Mr. Utterson’s point of view, and gives his account of him trying to discredit this man claiming to be Jekyll. The problem is, this possible impostor is always one step ahead of him, driving him to madness. He is adamant he knows the truth, but no-one will believe him.

I read the book in two days, as I didn’t want to put it down. It is flawless. Not very often I use that word, but I connected with the story and found myself totally enthralled and involved in the plot, one that had me thinking how it could very well work today, as identity theft is big business.

I have one little niggle though. Mr O’Neill you are a wicked man, I needed to know the answer, but you never gave it. Whilst I’m 99% sure of it, that 1% is annoying. I now know how Utterson truly felt!

Reviewed by Stacey

Pink five stars

Amazon.co.ukAmazon.com


About the Author

Anthony O'Neill Photo Editor https://www.tuxpi.com

Anthony O’Neill is the son of an Irish policeman and an Australian stenographer. He was born in Melbourne and lives in Edinburgh.

He is the author of Scheherazade, a revisionist Arabian Nights epic; The Lamplighter, a psychological horror novel set in Victorian Scotland; The Empire of Eternity, a history-mystery involving Napoleon Bonaparte and the early years of Egyptology; The Unscratchables, a Swiftian satire featuring dog and cat detectives; and The Dark Side, a crime novel set on the far side of the moon.

Film rights to The Dark Side have recently been purchased by 20th Century Fox for development by Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian.

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18 Responses

  1. Rosie Amber says:

    I do like a touchy feely book cover. I recently helped my son revise the classic for his exams, so I’m familiar with the original storyline., which as many classic tend to be, was rather dry for my liking. Glad this book piqued your interest.

  2. Terri A. Wilson says:

    It’s amazing how much mileage we are able to get from old stories. There always seems to a new way of looking at it. This is a great review and sounds like a book worth checking out,

  3. Mandi Wasmer says:

    Whatttt someone wrote a sequel? Ok now I really need to go back and read the original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde so I can read this! I’ve been looking for a reason, and this book looks fascinating, so I think I have that reason now. 🙂

  4. whisperingstories says:

    That’s the only trouble with classics, sometime that are hard to read and I start to loose interest, which annoys me as I really want to read them. I tried the hobbit once, but after only 2 chapters (that were about 50 pages each), I gave up. This wasn’t wrote in an old fashioned style, which was good.

  5. DJ Sakata says:

    I like this premise and your review, you have piqued my interest 😉

  6. Morgan Smith says:

    Oh my gosh, that cover is insanely gorgeous!

  7. I paused at the title and laughed for an unnatural amount of time, I think that is so clever. This sounds like a great read, as someone who never read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and is only aware of Brain’s Jeckyll/Hyde song from Arthur, this makes me actually want to read both. I loved your review. My only worry is that niggle that is bothering you. I don’t like the author not telling me everything. I hate to end a book with questions that I don’t have answers to but based on your review, I am probably going to give this a chance.

  8. Jenn says:

    I’ve never read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but now I’m intrigued! Great review!

  9. Katie @ Book Ink Reviews says:

    Holy goodness. I passed this one up and you’ve made me totally regret it! Thank you for bringing it back to my attention. Looks like it is now a TBR.

  10. My husband love Jekyll and Hyde books so he might enjoy this twist (or continuation) on the original. Great review. Thank you!

  11. Thank you Terri. It really is a book worth checking out.

  12. Thank you Mandi. I know, mad isn’t it. But it really works.

  13. Thank you DJ. Good to hear we have piqued your interest.

  14. Thank you Morgan. I totally agree with you.

  15. Thank you Isatta. Even with my niggle the book is still a fab read.

  16. Thank you Jenn. I don’t think you need to have read the original to read this book.

  17. Thank you Katie. Oh no, what a shame. I hope you do get to read it eventually.

  18. Thank you for your comment. If he loves the original I think he would love this book too.