John R.K. Powell

A Night Inn Hell by John RK Powell is a story set in 1898 at a country inn outside Wales. Peter and Stella Stokes are struggling financially to keep their inn due to the difficulty visitors have in navigating dangerous roads in order to reach them. A police officer approaches Peter with a tempting financial proposition, which could allow the Stokes to continue the life they love. Unfortunately, Peter must agree to compromise his moral integrity and keep secrets from his wife.

This is an show more ambitious effort by a young author, and the plot is an interesting concept. There are technical issues with the structure and pacing that compromises the reading ease. The balance between action, dialogue and narrative is uneven, which drags the pace of the story. I was unable to determine a clear antagonist. Jack the Ripper plays an original role but that plotline stalls while less interesting ones receive more attention. Although Powell strongly renders the protagonists, Peter & Stella, the supporting characters are weak in places. Part of the issue is colloquialisms that don’t suit the period, such as “You two make me sick” and “She was about to blow that out of the water.” The lack of contractions in the writing style contributes to stiff dialogue that feels robotic in places.

This is a good first effort by a young author. I would encourage the use of a qualified proof reader and editor in the future. There were over twenty typos and an editor could have tightened up the scenes to create suspense and made the foreshadowing more subtle to support revelations. show less