October 28

Lost in the Lake – AJ Waines

She came at first for answers…now she’s back for you

Amateur viola player Rosie Chandler is the sole survivor of a crash which sends a group of musicians plunging into a lake. Convinced the accident was deliberate, but unable to recall what happened, she is determined to recover her lost memories and seeks out clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby.

But Rosie is hiding something…

Sam is immediately drawn to the tragic Rosie and as she helps her piece the fragments together, the police find disturbing new evidence which raises further questions. Why is Rosie so desperate to recover her worthless viola?

When Rosie insists they return to the lake to relive the fatal incident, the truth about Rosie finally emerges. Now Sam is the one seriously out of her depth…

 

My thanks to Emma at Bloodhound Books for the chance to join the blog tour

 

Sam is a clinical psychologist and she has helped patients recover lost memories. It is through this skill that she encounters Rosie – a young woman who has narrowly survived a terrible ordeal and is reaching out to Sam to help her recall the events leading up to the accident which she had been involved in. Rosie hopes that by recovering her memories of the event she may understand what happened to her friends that were in the van she was traveling in. All she can recall is that the van left the road and Rosie managed to get out but her friends do not appear to have been so lucky.

Lost in the Lake begins with Rosie’s near death experience then spins forward to her first encounter with Sam. From the very first meeting of the two women it becomes clear to the reader that Rosie is a deeply troubled person and has experienced more than one terrible ordeal. However, we also get a hint that she is not being entirely honest with Sam and that she is keeping things back.

We also spend time with Sam. Events from Inside the Whispers have cast a bit of a shadow over her current personal situation (nb reading Whispers is not essential as the author deftly provides all the relevant information). Sam appears at a bit of a low ebb, her oldest and dearest friend may soon be moving away and there is a suggestion that Sam is lonely. But she is throwing herself into her work and the chance to assist Rosie is a compelling motivator.

Once the pattern of visits is established we come to see that Rosie is not behaving normally and that her dependency upon Sam is spilling out of control. Sam too is becoming aware that Rosie is becoming too needy for Sam’s attentions and she begins to wonder if she should end Rosie’s sessions.

The relationship between the two becomes a tense and intricate dance. While their conversations are professional and aimed at helping Rosie we also know how each woman is also trying to control the nature and extent of the relationship they have with each other – it is brilliantly conveyed by the author and I was gnawing at my fingernails in horrified frustration.

I cannot share too much detail over how the “dance” unfolds, however, if you are a fan of psychological thrillers and books which ramp up the tension as the characters reveal more and more of their driving forces, then you will not go far wrong with Lost in the Lake.

I read the whole book in two sittings as I had to know how events were going to play out – I was not disappointed. Lost in the Lake is available now and I urge you to read it.

 

Lost in the Lake is published by Bloodhound Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Lake-psychological-thriller-Samantha-ebook/dp/B07J59N6G4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540726587&sr=8-1&keywords=lost+in+the+lake

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October 16

Inside The Whispers – A.J. Waines

The most dangerous place is inside your own head…

Dr Samantha Willerby, a specialist in Post Traumatic Stress, has never seen anything like this before. Following a fire on the London Underground, three survivors seek her help but although unmistakably traumatised, their stories don’t match the facts. Are they ‘faking it’? Sam’s confusion turns to horror when one by one, instead of recovering, they are driven to suicide.

When her lover, Conrad, begins to suffer the same terrifying flashbacks, Sam is desperate to find out what’s causing them. As a mysterious and chilling conspiracy begins to unravel the nightmares begin for Sam…

 

My thanks to Emma at Bloodhound Books for the chance to host a leg of the blogtour.

 

I love a thriller set around hospitals. Perhaps it is because both my parents worked for the NHS and I grew up surrounded by hospital chat? But give me a book with a medical theme and the threat that a place of healing is actually doing harm to its patients and I will be a happy reader.

Inside The Whispers is a perfect example of why I love these types of stories. We are introduced to Doctor Samantha Willerby (Sam) – she is a clinical psychologist and is treating patients suffering traumas and trying to help them overcome their personal demons. Sam realises that some of her patients were caught up in the same terrifying event – a fire at a London tube station. Their graphic descriptions of the horror they faced leaves Sam shaken, particularly when the first patient commits suicide. However, something seems wrong with the scenes they are describing and despite the clarity of their memories of the fire there are inconsistencies in their memory which Sam cannot explain.

Digging deeper Sam soon uncovers evidence to suggest that her patients may be lying to her,  but to what end and why would they fabricate a story so vivid and horrific that they then start to take their own lives?  Sam needs to get to the bottom of the mystery as her boyfriend starts to exhibit the same symptoms as her patients.

Away from work there are also problems for Sam at home, her sister has left the residential clinic where she has been staying for several years. Seemingly recovered from the mental problems which plagued her childhood Sam’s sister, Mimi, is determined to make a success of living back in society. But her arrival will cause friction with Sam as the long running fractious nature of their relationship cannot just be glossed over and forgotten easily.

Inside the Whispers was an absolute treat to read. The author created characters I cared about, giving them a depth and feel which kept me reading. Sam’s work and home life brought her into contact with people with hugely fascinating stories and these are explored really well through the book. The realisation that her patients are dying and that Sam is unable to prevent it gives a strong feeling of a “race against time” particularly when events come close to home for Sam.

This is a stylish, intelligent thriller with a dark and deeply disturbing premise at its core. I flew through the book in super-fast time as I was desperate to see how the story would be resolved and, when I was done, I had that conflicted satisfied sadness of “I loved it…but it’s finished.”

Inside the Whispers is highly recommended.

 

Inside The Whispers is published by Bloodhound Books and is available in digital and paperback format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Whispers-haunting-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B07J57C82Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539726759&sr=8-1&keywords=inside+the+whispers

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September 7

Lost in the Lake – A. J. Waines

She came at first for answers…now she’s back for you

Amateur viola player Rosie Chandler is the sole survivor of a crash which sends members of a string quartet plunging into a lake. Convinced the ‘accident’ was deliberate, but unable to recall what happened, she is determined to recover her lost memories and seeks out clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby.

But Rosie is hiding something…

Sam is immediately drawn to the tragic Rosie and as she helps her piece the fragments together, the police find disturbing new evidence which raises further questions. Why is Rosie so desperate to recover her worthless viola? And what happened to the violin lost in the crash, worth over £2m?

When Rosie insists they return to the lake to relive the fatal incident, the truth about Rosie finally creeps up on Sam – but by now, she’s seriously out of her depth…

A stand alone novel (and the second book in the Dr Samantha Willerby series), Lost in the Lake is a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat Psychological Thriller that will leave you glancing over your shoulder.

 

My heartfelt thanks to Alison for my review copy

Last year A.J. Waines introduced us to Dr Samantha (Sam) Willerby in a brilliant and thought provoking thriller called Inside the Whispers.  I really enjoyed that book and so I was delighted to learn that Sam was going to return for Lost in the Lake.

Sam is a clinical psychologist and she has helped patients recover lost memories. It is through this skill that she encounters Rosie – a young woman who has narrowly survived a terrible ordeal and is reaching out to Sam to help her recall the events leading up to the accident which she had been involved in. Rosie hopes that by recovering her memories of the event she may understand what happened to her friends that were in the van she was traveling in. All she can recall is that the van left the road and Rosie managed to get out but her friends do not appear to have been so lucky.

Lost in the Lake begins with Rosie’s near death experience then spins forward to her first encounter with Sam. From the very first meeting of the two women it becomes clear to the reader that Rosie is a deeply troubled person and has experienced more than one terrible ordeal. However, we also get a hint that she is not being entirely honest with Sam and that she is keeping things back.

We also spend time with Sam. Events from Inside the Whispers have cast a bit of a shadow over her current personal situation (nb reading Whispers is not essential as the author deftly provides all the relevant information). Sam appears at a bit of a low ebb, her oldest and dearest friend may soon be moving away and there is a suggestion that Sam is lonely. But she is throwing herself into her work and the chance to assist Rosie is a compelling motivator.

Once the pattern of visits is established we come to see that Rosie is not behaving normally and that her dependency upon Sam is spilling out of control. Sam too is becoming aware that Rosie is becoming too needy for Sam’s attentions and she begins to wonder if she should end Rosie’s sessions.

The relationship between the two becomes a tense and intricate dance. While their conversations are professional and aimed at helping Rosie we also know how each woman is also trying to control the nature and extent of the relationship they have with each other – it is brilliantly conveyed by the author and I was gnawing at my fingernails in horrified frustration.

I cannot share too much detail over how the “dance” unfolds, however, if you are a fan of psychological thrillers and books which ramp up the tension as the characters reveal more and more of their driving forces, then you will not go far wrong with Lost in the Lake.

I read the whole book in two sittings as I had to know how events were going to play out – I was not disappointed. Lost in the Lake is available now and I urge you to read it.

 

Lost in the Lake released on 7 September 2017 and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Lake-Samantha-Willerby-Book-ebook/dp/B073W8X17W/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

 

 

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