A Prayer For The Broken by Mark Tilbury | @MTilburyAuthor

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for A Prayer For The Broken by Mark Tilbury! My thanks to Mark for inviting me to join and for providing me with a review copy!

Author : Mark Tilbury
Title : A Prayer For The Broken
Publisher : Tilbury Publishing
Publication date : October 5, 2020

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

When eleven-year-old John McCormack’s mother is murdered, he is placed in the care of Pastor Ian Stone and his family. Clearwater House is a far cry from the squalid flats he’s been used to, but John soon learns that Pastor Stone’s perverted form of religion is anything but compassionate. As Stone attempts to purify John’s soul of “dangerous levels of toxicity”, it becomes increasingly clear he’s at the mercy of a madman.

Who can John talk to when no one wants to listen?
Who can he trust when all he knows is betrayal?

Amazon US | Amazon UK

| MY THOUGHTS |

Mark Tilbury’s collection of despicable, vile and evil characters seemingly knows no end as he once again comes up with one of the most twisted maniacs I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. Worse still, this one uses religion as the driving force behind his madness.

John McCormack is eleven years old when his mother is found murdered. With no other family to take care of him, John is placed into foster care and soon finds himself adopted by Pastor Stone. However, this pillar of the community is not what he seems and what should be a safe haven for John quickly turns into the stuff of nightmares.

Dark and disturbing is turning into a bit of an understatement when describing Mark Tilbury’s books. This is an author who doesn’t shy away from tackling the tough topics. A Prayer for the Broken has quite high levels of cruelty, neglect and abuse that often made for uncomfortable reading. In case you wondered, warm and fuzzy this is not and if you’re of the faint-hearted variety, you should probably give this one a miss. But you’d be missing out, I tell you.

There’s a sense of desperation and loneliness throughout the story. I constantly felt myself wishing for things to get better for John but couldn’t see how they ever could be. Can he find anyone to talk to? Anyone who’s willing to listen? Anyone who will believe him? Anyone he can trust? As the days at Clearwater House go by, I honestly feared for John’s future. But in the midst of all that doom and gloom comes a little ray of light in the darkness when John strikes up a friendship with Brendan.

Despicable things have happened, and still happen, in the name of religion. A Prayer for the Broken is a horrible reminder of that. This story is upsetting, it’s ugly and brutal, it’ll turn your stomach. But just like so many other stories Mark Tilbury has offered us over the years, the characters will stay with you. Under your skin and in your mind, they are that unforgettable.

So yes, Twisted Tilbury has struck again. A Prayer for the Broken is dark, twisted, extremely (in)tense and exactly what I would expect from this author. I’m off to find something light-hearted and fluffy now though!

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Mark lives in a small village in the lovely county of Cumbria, although his books are set in Oxfordshire where he was born and raised. 

After being widowed and raising his two daughters, Mark finally took the plunge and self-published two books on Amazon, The Revelation Room and The Eyes of the Accused. 

He’s always had a keen interest in writing, and is extremely proud to have had seven novels published by Bloodhound Books. He’s also recently self-published, The Last One To See Her.

When he’s not writing, Mark can be found playing guitar, reading and walking.