"... an extremely well written book with three dimensional characters that you quickly grow to love or hate. It is hard to put the book into any category as it is set in an imaginary West Coast village at the end of the nineteenth century but has a cast of characters that include a crew of pirates from a century earlier and has a plot involving secret passages, treasure and characters that could have come from Dickens, Dylan Thomas or Mervyn Peake. It also manages to be a book for adults or older teenagers as any one who appreciates good writing will love it. The book ends with many trailing loose ends and a sequel must be on the way. I hope so because I want to spend more time in this village and see what happens to the cast of characters. Highly recommended ..."

"I was looking for an entertaining read for the Christmas break and a friend recommended this book to me. It didn't disappoint. With an elegant and easy to read prose style, the author takes you on a rollickingly journey full of wonderfully fleshed out characters. The children are likeable for their naive but determined approach to the challenges they face and some of the adults are all the more likeable for their grotesqueness. I found the book by turns funny, sad, exciting and shocking. I agree with 'Sheddweller' that a sequel must be on the way and I can't wait to read it. Suitable for teens to the more mature reader, I would heartily recommend this book."

"A good book, for me, requires a few simple necessities. It must be interesting. It must hold one's attention. The characters must be so real one can become part of their world whilst reading. Feel with them. Hope with them. Sympathise with them. Be elated, worried and crushed with them. Fervently wish all will be right in the end and must at all costs carry on reading in the hope the characters will live to see a sequel! The Black Joke has all these qualities. I loved it!
 
From the moment reading commenced I needed to know the next twist. I lived with the characters, craved to know what was going to happen next. Would all be right in the end?
 
This is not a short book and not one which can be seen off in a couple of hours but it absolutely demands once you have put it down one must get back to it as soon as humanly possible. The setting is dramatic. The characters are alive and their names wonderfully descriptive. The story is exciting and moves well. The complete book was absolutely captivating.
 
One thing I've just got to say though. For heaven's sake David Bramhall, please have a sequel out soon, there are loose ends to clear up ... can't wait ... must know what happened next ..." - Myles Bevis

"A great read - loved the suspense - a real page turner - couldn't put it down ... looking forward to next!"