Stronger Than Skin by Stephen May

Stronger Than Skin Reviews

• 
  Susan Hampson

  So I started to read this book and thought ok sounds like this bloke has a lovely little family. Mark Chadwick, who is telling the story, is trying to reclaim some of the fitness that he once had, by riding a bike bought for him by his pregnant wife. She is at home with their two children but as he rounds the corner he sees police going to his house. My first thought was something has happened to his family, then I was thrown because Mark did not speed up to get to the police officers, no, he sped up to get past as quickly as he could without being seen. What the hell, I thought, what has he done?
  Well talk about a book getting your attention, because I soon realised that I would only find out as the past caught up with the present when the story dropped back to the 1990's to shuffle back and forth with present day until they became one.  Mark Chadwick had been sat on a time bomb and someone had lit the fuse!  I was hooked and going nowhere. This was like book Cluedo, I knew something had happened, I didn't know who was involved or where it had all gone down, but I was determined that I would find out!
  Stephen May didn't over crowd his novel with lots of bystanders, each character had a purpose, a past, the present and shockingly not always a future. It was fascinating to see how the different roles of people in Mark's life altered his character when he was with them and how quickly circumstances could change what really mattered to him.  This is a story of lust, love and betrayal, where emotions run high and circumstances are not always of ones own making. An awesome read.
• 
  Linda Boa

  Amazing novel, hugely talented author I'm glad I've discovered. Join me on the Blog Tour on Wednesday 22nd March at
  https://crimeworm.wordpress.com/
• 
  Stephanie Ressort

  I was gripped from start to finish by a fresh, unpredictable plot and compelling characters. I was sad when I came to the end and I close it for the last time, or at least until the next time. I suspect I'll be revisiting this book, because it isn't just the plot that hooks you, it's beautifully written and gives authentic and sensitive portrayals of love and family.
• 
  Megan

  My book blog:
  http://publishedmoments.co.uk
  
  Stronger Than Skin was intriguing from the offset, Mark is on the run from the police and you have absolutely no idea why and you have no idea for about 80% of the book - amazing how a book that revolves around the Mark man-hunt doesn't give anything away but somehow manages to keep you turning the pages and reading on.
  
  Stephen May writes about the characters of Stronger Than Skin throughout various stages of their life, it helps you form a connection with the characters as you feel you've grown with them. This evokes strong emotions within the reader and makes the shocking parts of the story more hard-hitting. You really get a sense of the love and pain within Marks life and it this kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know more.
  
  I loved the way Stronger Than Skin ended, it took me by surprise and without giving away too much it's not something you see in every book - in fact it's rarer than I would like. I wish I could say more but if I did I would be taking the excitement of the book away from you - it's unpredictable to say the least, the whole book is!
• 
  Michael Rumney

  I really did want to like this book but I couldn't despite its good start when Mark Chadwick cycles home, sees the police and decides he'd better go pass. The police have caught up with him for a serious historical crime. From here on the book meanders in both time and keeping to the story. The ending is unsatisfactory in that the police don't care after taking their time to find him. It's a small point I know but May has a line 'I put some toast in the toaster' No it's bread. Small details like this irked me and added to my not liking this novel. Should have been 200 pages shorter.
• 
  Ian Kirkpatrick

  Stephen May’s new novel “Stronger Than Skin” is an absolute belter, and continues his ongoing theme of obsession with the male psyche. The plot grabs you by the throat from the outset and is relentless in its intensity. May is a master of first person narration, and he gives his protagonist Mark Chadwick an authentic voice which is both engaging and beautifully constructed.
  
  May’s second novel “Life, Death, Prizes” was much lauded, sweeping all before it as it scooped up a nomination for the Costa prize. His third novel “Wake Up Happy Every Day” was less commercially successful, despite a strong premise and a great line in self-deprecating humour. “Stronger Than Skin” is a far more satisfying read, with a great cast of characters, and a sweeping visual sensibility that probably owes much to May’s experiences as a screenwriter.
  
  At the outset of the novel Mark Chadwick’s carefully constructed life takes a sudden left turn, and May deftly plots out a twin storyline as the reader slowly learns the parallels between the toxic relationship from his past and the domesticated order of his current life. May slowly teases out clues, drawing the reader into Chadwick’s intricately fashioned and convoluted world.
  
  I particularly enjoyed the depth of characterisation within the novel. Even the minor characters are sharply delineated. When Chadwick meets an overly self-confident ex-pupil May gives his protagonist the telling line “I’m not a big fan of certainty. I don’t trust it.” I smiled for the rest of the chapter.
  
  Like much of May’s work “Stronger Than Skin” defies simple categorisation. It is a carefully constructed high-wire act, balancing a psychological thriller with a romantic character study. Yet it works brilliantly, and May delivers it with his trademark wit and charm. Comparisons with Nick Hornby and David Nicholls are probably inevitable, but to my mind they are simply lazy reviewing. May has a better ear for dialogue than either of them, and he pulls no punches when it comes to emotional impact. He also doesn’t over-write, so whilst the ending satisfactorily resolves the main plot threads, not everything is neatly parcelled into a pat conclusion. I have a feeling May would approve of a suspended chord at the end of a song, much like The Who’s “Pinball Wizard”. Stephen May compared with Pete Townshend – I think he’d approve of that too.
• 
  Anne Goodwin

  Stronger Than Skin is an story of wounds and scars, of the families that make us and those we make in our turn, of secrets, growing up, and failing to, and of youth out of its depth. It’s also about modern manhood …
  Full review
  Youth’s Scandalous Secrets Brought to Light
  http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/...
• 
  G.L. Sheridan

  I recently met Stephen May at an author's publicity meeting and his book seemed intriguing. It was. I started reading it and became engrossed. His writing style rips along and for me, this is the sign of a good writer - you don't skim anything. I read all his words. They were all necessary and added to the story. I liked the way it went back and forth - to his youth, then his later predicament. It was always clear which era we were in. At the author's meeting, someone asked if he needed to write descriptions like 'walls the colour of low-fat spread' and I thought yes, absolutely! His descriptions are spot-on, his story was good, his characters real with their good and bad sides.
  Why four stars instead of five? I don't think the protagonist's crime was so terrible. If he'd faced up to it, it would have been one person's word against another. He was a nice guy. They would have believed him, I reckon. But then, there wouldn't have been a story.
  Anyway, aside from that, I thought it was a cracking read. Finished it in 3 days. The ending left me sad, but hopeful. I'll definitely look for more books by this author.
• 
  Snoakes

  Steven May's novels just get better and better. At the start of this one Mark & Katy seem to have the perfect life. But it quickly becomes apparent that something is amiss - Mark's past is back to haunt him and tear his settled life into pieces.
  
  The story of Mark's younger self as an undergraduate at Cambridge is slowly revealed, alongside his current life as a fugitive from justice. As this dual narrative progresses we start to discover that he isn't the person we thought he was.
  
  One of the strengths of May's novels is the characterisation. Mark isn't as perfect as he initially seems and as we get to know him better we are increasingly made aware that he can be weak and selfish. It makes him less likeable maybe, but definitely much more like a real person - he makes bad decisions and screws things up - just like the best of us. In fact this holds true for most of the characters in the book - as we know them better, so we know their faults and frailties.
  
  It's a novel about love, loss and regret. The mistakes of the past have a habit of creeping back into your life to trip you up. Highly recommended to anyone who like a good story.
• 
  Eli Goldenberg

  'Stronger than Skin' is an excellent book about the life course of Mark Chadwick, the main character. He's a perfectly normal man at first sight, but as the book progresses it becomes clear that he's hiding a dark secret. In the first scene of the book, we see Mark driving home on his new bike, which he got from his pregnant wife. It seems like an ordinary day until he realizes that there is police at his front door. This is the start of a blood-curdling chase by the police, in which Marks' past threatens to emerge. All the different characters that Mark encounts have their own problems, that makes them very recognizable. They're also described in a very detailed and realistic way. The book is divided into many short chapters, in which the dark secret that Mark carries with him step by step is unraveled with a mesmerizing climax as result. Because the book is divided into small chapters, it reads very smoothly. After this enormously exciting and moving story, in which both the good and the bad aspects of human being are shown, I will definitely read a lot more books that are written by Stephen May. I would highly recommend this novel, because it’s a real piece of art.
• 
  Jordi Verbruggen

  When I began to read the book I knew very quickly that I would find it a good book. I liked the mysterious beginning, I knew that something had happend and I wanted to absolutely know what it was. I had and wanted to read the book. When I started reading further and further I got enough information about all the characters. The author never went too fast, you understand each step what happend in the book. The author also makes quite a lot of time jumps in the book but those are also very easy to follow. The reading of the book goes also very fast forward. The author used no or little difficult words. The book is a mix of tension, love and humor. All the 3 themes are perfectly combined in the book. To the end of the book is everything more clear. The past and the present come together into 1 story. The end is very poignant, I as reader had certainly not expected. Stronger than skin is the best English book I’ve read so far.
  A real suggestion !
• 
  Jan

  A compelling start: the narrator, a teacher, cycles home to see the police are at his house… and he keeps on riding. So begins his attempt to keep out of the law’s reach, even if it means being away from his wife and young children. So we know he’s done something terrible, but not what, and just what could be so bad to trigger this extreme response isn’t revealed for quite some time. There’s a lengthy recollection of his days as a student at Cambridge so we suspect this must connect to the crime somehow, eventually. Unfortunately there is a lot of water tread before the big revelation finally comes, and even then it’s a letdown as far as fictional skeletons in the closet go. The author didn’t make enough of the enticing premise he concocted at the outset, sadly.
• 
  Annie Day

  I enjoyed Stephen May’s writing style but overall did not find this to be a satisfying thriller. The tale of the narrator’s old affair with a university tutor seemed cliched, and the descriptions of his current marriage felt incomplete. While the tale of his experiences as a fugitive was engaging I didn’t feel that this situation was fully resolved. I would read another book by the author but felt that Stronger Than Skin didn’t quite hit the mark.
  
• 
  Sandra

  Yet another half-price punt from Sandstone books that paid off in spades. A couple of typos, at least one unforgiveable mis-spelling and the back cover blurb gave too much away, but not having read it until well on, my enjoyment was nor spoilt.
  And enjoyed I did. Beginning with the likelihood of something too predictable, it quickly became not so. And continued thus for the rest of the book.
• 
  Mags Winthrop

  This was a book full of intrigue with some great twists & turns. Stephen has a fast paced writing style with wonderful use of irony & the book is a real page turner. I was as unsatisfied as the main protagonist with the ending ...
• 
  June Jones

  Disappointing.