The Pursuit of William Abbey

I have certainly not read anything like this before. The storyline was interesting and (at times) captivating and follows William Abbey, a man cursed by the shadow of a dead boy, from the 1880's through to WW1 in 1917. The curse requires him to keep moving around the world, keeping ahead of his shadow or risk those he loves an instant death. There are a few chapters early on in the book that are extremely graphic and gruesome in their detail. I almost felt I could not continue on with the book, but after that it takes a different turn. At times I was fascinated with the story and at other times rather bored as the story seemed to get stuck in a loop, with no likeable characters. The book definitely could have been shortened and still managed to get the story across. The novel is threaded with an interesting snapshot of the British Empires global politics during the time. The excellent writing kept me going as well as wanting to know what happened to William in the end, sad to say I was rather disappointed with the anti-climatic ending. Definitely enjoyed the Author's writing style but is seems many of her books have a similar synopsis and not sure if I will read anymore.