Praise for Roy Garde's first novel Breaking Free (2005). Critics were generally positive and some made comparisons that ranged from the raw-"Robinson Crusoe meets Rambo" to the over flattering-"The novel that a collaboration between H.E. Bates and John Updike might have produced." When asked his opinion of them Mr. Garde said, "I never read any reviews if the critic's name is in larger print than the name of the author of the book. With the exception of Mr. Anon, of course." After listening to some excerpts over the phone he said, "Far too much nit-picking but overall they seem to be positive, as you said, and that's good to know but many readers who felt the need to contact me, via the publisher, used the phrase-"A Good Read." I don't expect, or want, anything better than that except, maybe, to have it combined with some variation of-"I Couldn't Put It Down."