Review: WHEN IT ALL COMES DOWN TO DUST by Barry Graham

WHEN IT ALL COMES DOWN TO DUST is a wholly engrossing tale of three lives connected by a single event – a moment in time that bloodies the definition of predator and victim.

Laura – a fractured protagonist whose iron will and determination creates a façade of normalcy to an anything but normal life. Author Barry Graham couldn’t have defined this character any better. Laura will draw upon all your emotions as her sordid past is sliced open with revelation after revelation building and knocking down the walls of a traditional protagonist.

Frank – a monster who took advantage of a young Laura yet wasn’t able to silence her. Now released from prison and apparently reformed, Laura’s past collides with the present with the only possible outcome; one last breath, one last bullet, one shot at a new life.

David - a journalist becomes involved with the object of his attention. After following Laura’s story and printing her privacy for all to read, David’s empathy and emotionally deep sense of self come to the forefront instilling him within Laura’s everyday life while also stabilising his often unpredictable professional life.  

The characters and plot itself rival the greats of noir in James M Cain and Cornell Woolrich. The tale Graham weaves spans what seems a lifetime from Laura’s lost childhood, encounter with Frank, to adult relationships while also providing a glimpse into David’s world and the causative factors that lead him to rethink his occupation.

WHEN IT ALL COMES DOWN TO DUST is a modern day classic noir – a story driven by solid characters that act on emotion and are glued by a sinister event which not only bloodies the past but stains the future. A must read for fans of noir.