From The Bookshelf – Page 32

Crash Land – Doug Johnstone

Sitting in the departure lounge of Kirkwall Airport, Finn Sullivan just wants to get off Orkney. But then he meets the mysterious and dangerous Maddie Pierce, stepping in to save her from some unwanted attention, and his life is changed forever.

Set against the brutal, unforgiving landscape of Orkney, CRASH LAND is a psychological thriller steeped in guilt, shame, lust, deception and murder.

My thanks to Laura at Faber & Faber for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

I love reading books set in Scotland, mainly down to the fact that I have lived, or spent time, in virtually every corner of my homeland and the locations I know so well can really lift a story. But despite having heard so many wonderful things about the Orkney Isles I have not yet ventured that far North. Now that I have read Crash Land I really want to make that journey. Doug Johnstone has made the islands sound so remote, beautiful, secluded and packed full of historical intrigue that I need to experience the place for myself…

But it is not just the location which makes Crash Land such a wonderful read – the story of Finn Sullivan’s chance encounter with Maddie Pierce (and all the consequences thereafter) is a thumpingly good and surprisingly dark page-turner.

Finn is leaving Orkney to return to his home on the Scottish mainland. He is killing time in the bar of the airport departure lounge when he spots Maddie – she is hard to miss. Maddie is travelling alone and attracting the unwanted attention of four boorish oil workers so she moves to join Finn who she perceives to be less of a threat. The typically inclement weather delays their flight so the two get chatting and we see that Finn has become quite enamoured with Ms Pierce. However, Finn has done most of the talking and soon realises that he knows very little about Maddie.

The two board their plane and set off on a journey which will change their lives forever. What follows is a delightfully tightly plotted story where you will never quite be sure where the truth lies. Trusts will be broken, many lies told and friendships (both new and old) will be tested to their limits.

Doug Johnstone has taken a very small cast of characters and built a gripping story around them. Finn is caught up in the centre of all the troubles and will need to decide where his loyalties lie. His mental and emotional limits will be tested and he will face predicaments from his worst nightmares. Reading Finn’s story and watching him try to continue to do what he believes is the right thing was a treat – though often I got frustrated with the decisions he was making!

Maddie, was a mystery. I was never quite sure where she was going or what was driving her…Doug Johnstone dripped her story out with expert pacing and I cheered for her and booed her in equal measure.

Crash Land is a cracking read – I thoroughly enjoyed it and have no hesitation in recommending that you read it too.

Crash Land is published by Faber & Faber and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crash-Land-Doug-Johnstone/dp/057133086X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478817373&sr=8-1&keywords=crash+land+by+doug+johnstone

Catch the previous legs of the Tour:

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November 7

Spare Me The Truth – CJ Carver

Dan Forrester, piecing his life back together after the tragic death of his son, is approached in a supermarket by a woman who tells him everything he remembers about his life – and his son – is a lie.

Grace Reavey, stricken by grief, is accosted at her mother’s funeral. The threat is simple: pay the staggering sum her mother allegedly owed, or lose everything.

Lucy Davies has been forced from the Met by her own maverick behaviour. Desperate to prove herself in her new rural post, she’s on the hunt for a killer – but this is no small town criminal.

Plunged into a conspiracy that will test each of them to their limits, these three strangers are brought together in their hunt for the truth, whatever it costs. And as their respective investigations become further and further entwined, it becomes clear that at the centre of this tangled web is a threat more explosive than any of them could have imagined.

I love thrillers like Spare Me The Truth. We have three seemingly unconnected characters and we follow their stories knowing that somehow their paths will cross. Three central protagonists also heightens the possibility that not everyone will come through the story unscathed. Will they all turn out to be victims? Is one of the characters going to cross another? What if one character can only achieve the outcome they want at the cost of misery to another? But as a reader, what I really need to know is: can the author juggle three big storylines and keep me reading?

Well if that author is CJ Carver then the answer to that last question is most certainly YES. Spare Me The Truth was an absolute blast to read.

From the opening chapters I was hooked on the dilemmas and confusion that Grace was facing. She had just lost her mother but a stranger approached her suggesting that her mother owed a lot of money – Grace had to make good on the debt. Grace realised that she knew little about the life that her mother may have led and now has to find a way to contend with a huge problem that she has inherited.

Dan Forrester is a tragic character. He lost his young son and the trauma of the incident has also robbed Dan of many of his memories – a defence mechanism to allow him to cope with the tragedy. Dan is getting by and slowly rebuilding his life until one day a chance encounter with a strange woman will lead him to question much of what he believes to be the truth. The woman clearly knows Dan well but he has no idea who she may be – how much faith can Dan place in the memories that his family and friends have helped him to rebuild?

Also integral to the story in Spare Me The Truth is Lucy Davis. A cop with a troubled past, she is keen to rebuild her reputation and regain the faith of her colleagues. Lucy believes she is on the trail of a killer, can she find the evidence she needs to prove she is correct and can she ensure that there are no more innocent deaths?

Spare Me The Truth was perfect escapism. I got drawn into the story and did not want to stop reading, this is exactly what I look for in a book!

Spare Me The Truth is published by Zaffre and is available in paperback and digital formats.

You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spare-Me-Truth-explosive-Forrester-ebook/dp/B01AC2JERU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478545908&sr=8-2&keywords=cj+carver

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October 30

Inside The Whispers – A J Waines

Where the most dangerous place – is inside your own head

Following a London Tube disaster, three traumatised survivors turn to clinical psychologist, Dr Samantha Willerby, for help – but she’s mystified when their stories don’t add up. Her confusion turns to horror when one by one, instead of recovering, they start committing suicide.

When her partner, Conrad, begins to suffer the same terrifying flashbacks, Sam is desperate to find out what is causing them and a mysterious and chilling crime begins to unravel.

Then the flashbacks begin for Sam…

My thanks to AJ Waines for the chance to join the Inside The Whispers blog tour

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.

You can order Inside the Whispers through the links below:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whispers-Samantha-Willerby-Chilling-Thriller-ebook/dp/B01K48MLB8

US: https://www.amazon.com/Whispers-Samantha-Willerby-Chilling-Thriller-ebook/dp/B01K48MLB8

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October 28

Chaos – Patricia Cornwell

On a hot late summer evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her investigative partner Pete Marino respond to a call about a dead bicyclist near the Kennedy School of Government. It appears that a young woman has been attacked with almost super human force.

Even before Scarpetta’s headquarters, the Cambridge Forensic Center, has been officially notified about the case, Marino and Scarpetta’s FBI agent husband Benton Wesley receive suspicious calls, allegedly from someone at Interpol. But it makes no sense. Why would the elite international police agency know about the case or be interested? With breathtaking speed it becomes apparently that an onslaught of interference and harassment might be the work of an anonymous cyberbully named Tailend Charlie, who has been sending cryptic communications to Scarpetta for over a week.

Stunningly, even her brilliant tech savvy niece Lucy can’t trace whoever it is or how this person could have access to intimate information few outside the family would have.

When a second death hundreds of miles south, shocking Scarpetta to her core, it becomes apparent she and those close her are confronted with something far bigger and more dangerous than they’d ever imagined. Then analysis of a mysterious residue recovered from a wound is identified as a material that doesn’t exist on earth.

My thanks to Hayley at Harper Collins for the chance to join the Chaos blog tour.

The 24th Kay Scarpetta novel from Patricia Cornwell – do you need to have read all the previous books? Possibly not but, as with all good series where character development is integral to the stories, returning readers will be richly rewarded. Chaos is not recommended as a jumping on point though, there are quite a few elements to the story which will require a bit of knowledge over past events and there are recurring characters where knowing the dynamic will enhance your reading enjoyment.

As we join Scarpetta we learn that she has been targeted by a cyber-stalker (dubbed Tailend Charlie) through regular messages he is revealing he knows more about Scarpetta’s background than a random nuisance should be able to determine. The communications appear to be a distraction for Dr Scarpetta but as events unfold in Chaos we find that they may be a more imminent threat than she has originally realised.

Tailend Charlie looms large over much of the events in Chaos. Even though events in the book take place over a very short period of time, through many conversational flashbacks we find that Scarpetta has been subject of Charlie’s attentions for quite some time. The mystery of his motives is a great hook and the way the story drips his influence breaks up the active investigation that is holding Scarpetta’s attention.

What I particularly enjoyed about Chaos is the focus given to the death of a cyclist. What has always made Patricia Cornwell novels standout for me in the past has been the detail that the author captures when Scarpetta works – and the dignity which is bestowed upon the victims she works with. Chaos has an extensive investigation into the cyclist’s death. Ideas over how this young woman died are explored, the scene of crime is described and searched with a thoroughness that comes from expert understanding of the subject matter and speculation is shot down in firm and professional manner. For reasons I cannot reveal (SPOILERS) Scarpetta is not having the best of days before she commences this investigation – the death of the cyclist is not making her day any better and things are going to become more puzzling and more hazardous for our favourite Doctor…

As I read I found that Chaos starts slow and builds and builds to the frenetic endgame. Seemingly inconsequential detail from the early chapters are built upon as the story develops – by the end you will appreciate how the author laid the clues and set up the mysteries. For fans of the series you need to know that events in Chaos will through Scarpetta’s life into…well chaos (obviously). The impact of this story will change the dynamic of her life for all future books.

What better incentive to bring a little Chaos into your day?

Chaos is available now in hardback and digital formats. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chaos-Kay-Scarpetta-Patricia-Cornwell/dp/0008150621/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477601542&sr=8-1&keywords=chaos+patricia+cornwell

Follow the rest of the blog tour here

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October 22

Killer Intent – Linden Chase

The last time undercover journalist Zane King was sent to Tranquility he barely escaped with his life.

Now 5 years later he finds himself back again, this time as a fully diagnosed psychopath just like every other resident on the island prison.

Zane is only just beginning to come to terms with the fact that he has ended up trapped in Tranquility 2.0 when a seemingly random plane crash introduces a squad of mysterious strangers into the already explosive mix of rival factions and rising tensions among the most dangerous community of town-folk on earth.

As always on the island, nothing is as it seems and Zane must battle relentlessly to finally uncover the truth about Tranquility.

My thanks to Chris at Fahrenheit Press for my review copy.

The second in the Tranquility Trilogy. In the first book, Killer Instincts, we met Zane King. He was an undercover journalist sent to Tranquility island to investigate a new experimental island prison where residents were left to fend for themselves with minimal supervision but were expected to form living colonies, work the land and only rely upon infrequent supply drops to get by. The experiment did not work and a bloodbath ensued. I loved Killer Instincts and likened it to Lord of the Files but for fans of slasher movies. You can read my review here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=1951

As you can see from the intro above, King survived the ordeals in Killer Instincts. However, despite his escape and a subsequent return to civilization where he rebuilt his life, he never managed to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding who controlled Tranquility. Five years after the events in Killer Instincts, Killer Intent opens with Zane waking from a drugged stupor to find himself back on Tranquility. The prison is back, new inmates, new factions and a new sheriff in town calling the shots. Zane has been diagnosed as a psychopath and sent back to the island for rehabilitation where he will be surrounded by like-minded killers

King is adjusting back into life on the island when the balance is rocked by the arrival of new residents. A plane comes down in the jungle and suddenly in the midst of all the psychopaths are innocent crash survivors. Can King, the sheriff and the island padre (King’s new ally on Tranquility 2.0) keep the incomers safe and find a way to get them off the island?

I am loving the Tranquility Trilogy. Throwing King back into the Hell that he thought he had escaped was an unexpected (and nasty) twist. There was a very political feel about Killer Intent, King is more wary about who he can trust and characters are much more devious in playing-off against each other. The shocks and twists that were in Instincts are very much present in Killer Intent and the story shines as a result. There is a genuine feel that nobody can be trusted, anyone could die at any point and that everyone is hiding something – what more could you ask for in a thriller?

Tranquility really is an incredibly misleading name as there is NOTHING tranquil about these stories but that’s exactly how we like them. I cannot wait to see how the trilogy wraps up. I know that Linden Chase is not going to make things easy for Zane King and I look forward to the conclusion with a huge amount of anticipation.

Killer Intent is published by Fahrenheit Press and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Killer-Intent-Tranquility-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B01MDNKQLB/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477173220&sr=8-2&keywords=Linden+Chase

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October 22

Her Last Breath – J.A. Schneider

A chilling psychological thriller about a woman caught between two men…Mari Gill wakes to horror in a strange apartment next to a murdered man, and can’t remember the night before. Accused of murder, she feels torn between her husband, a successful defense attorney, and a mysterious, kind man who wants to help. Can she trust either of them – or even her friends?

Detective Kerri Blasco battles her police bosses believing Mari is innocent…but is she?

A heart-stopping psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Alfred Hitchcock

My thanks to the author for my review copy.

I tend not to Tweet much about the books that I am still reading, but when I started Her Last Breath I took advantage of a reading break to share how much I enjoy a book that gets straight into the action.

Her Last Breath opens with Mari Gill waking in a strange room to find herself lying beside a murdered man, a man she has never seen before and she has absolutely no idea what happened the night before. Soaked in blood and on the edge of hysteria is not how most leading characters are introduced…talk about grabbing my attention from the first page! But it is not just the opening that had me gripped as Her Last Breath was an absolute joy to read.

Mari is trapped in a living nightmare, accused of murder and unsure who she can turn to for support she finds that she has to engage her estranged husband as her lawyer. Meanwhile the investigating cops, in particular Detective Kerri Blasco, are initially inclined to believe Mari is innocent. Yet there are inconsistencies in Mari’s story that are not helping clear her name and Kerri has to persuade her boss that there is more to his murder than initially meets the eye.

J.A. Schneider has done a brilliant job in keeping the tension running through Her Last Breath. I attribute this in part to the wonderful characterisation in the book. So often I can put down a novel and struggle to remember any of the character names, however, I loved both Mari and Kerri Blasco – two totally different characters but equally engaging and brilliantly realised. I kept reading as I wanted to find if Mari could have been guilty of the murder. I kept reading as I wanted to find if Kerri would be able to find a murderer. I kept reading because the story was so damned good. It hit just the right balance for me, brilliantly paced, nicely twisty and with a nicely sized supporting cast who could all have been guilty at one point in the book!

Pacey, twisty and that perfect “one more chapter” feeling – Her Last Breath is highly recommended.

Her Last Breath is available now. Purchase link: ‪http://getBook.at/HerLastBreath

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September 21

Strangers – Paul Finch

Unknown, alone, and fearing for your life.

As PC Lucy Clayburn is about to find out, going undercover is the most dangerous work there is.

But, on the trail of a prolific female serial killer, there’s no other option – and these murders are as brutal as they come.

Lucy must step into the line of fire – a stranger in a criminal underworld that butchers anyone who crosses the line.

And, unknown to Lucy, she’s already treading it…

My thanks to Helena at Avon Books for my review copy and the opportunity to be the first leg on the Strangers blog tour

I suspect that one observation shall crop up quite frequently when Strangers is reviewed…No Heck. But what is it that makes Heck so good? Well it’s Paul Finch of course! So when I heard that Lucy Clayburn would be the lead character in Strangers I was actually really pleased. New characters means new opportunities, new adventures and a blank canvas for an author to take a very different approach – one that would not work for the characters we may already associate with that author.

As it turns out that is exactly what we get as Lucy Clayburn is going undercover on the streets to pose as a working girl. No matter how good Heck may be I just cannot see him pulling off that role!

The good news (not that it comes as a surprise) is that PC Lucy Clayburn is a fabulous character. There are so many spoilers to avoid but I can say she has a dubious reputation in her role which has put a blight on her career to date. Lucy has a wonderfully “punky” attitude which I immediately warmed to and when she is driven to do the best in her role and prove her worth to her colleagues she is a force to be reckoned with.

As we have come to expect from Paul Finch’s books the streets are full of some really nasty bad guys and in Strangers I am delighted that this theme continued. A female serial killer is murdering and mutilating men and the police have very little to work on. Lucy is recruited to join a team of undercover officers who will pose as prostitutes in a bid to win the confidence of other street girls who may give some clues towards the possible identity of the killer.

But for Lucy a different opportunity arises when she is given some information which could bring the police closer to closing down the activities of some of the worst members of the North West’s criminal underworld. Lucy is desperate to redeem herself in the eyes of her bosses and agrees to put herself right into the heart of the gangster operations.

What she finds, and the consequences of her actions, make for a 5 star thrill-fest. One of those stories which you just do not want to end and one where you feel that no characters are absolutely guaranteed to still be alive come the last page. The best kind of story!

Paul Finch writes books I want to read. If you like crime fiction of the highest calibre then look no further.

Strangers is published by Avon and is available now in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strangers-Paul-Finch/dp/0007551312/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474496962&sr=1-1&keywords=strangers+paul+finch

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September 21

Exclusion Zone – J.M. Hewitt

On 26th April 1986, reactor four exploded at the factory in Pripyat, Chernobyl.

At the same time teenager Afia Bello vanished from her home without a trace.

The damage from the nuclear fallout is examined over the following weeks, months and years by Afia’s younger sister Sissy, as she unwittingly uncovers clues relating to her sister’s disappearance, and the secret life that Afia kept hidden from her family.

In the summer of 2015 Private Detective Alex Harvey is hired to investigate the disappearances that have been occurring within the exclusion zone.

He can think of only one person to bring along with him to help; Ukrainian national Elian Gould.

Elian – who was adopted at birth – has her own reasons for accepting the job; namely to search for her own family history which has always been a mystery to her.

But the remaining citizens of Chernobyl are hiding their own secrets and with a darker force at work, the missing person’s case suddenly turns into something much more serious…

I received a copy of Exclusion Zone from the author. But as she had very kindly signed it for me I bought another copy so I could keep the signed one good!

Not going to mess around on this one – it is a 5* read and I loved it.

Chernobyl as a setting is fabulous for a crime thriller – the place where nobody wants to go. A place where time stands still. And a place where evil can seemingly thrive without consequence. The scenes in the book that take place in Chernobyl are extremely dark, darker than I had expected (but this is a good thing). A killer is hunting victims and revelling in their capture. His crimes are escaping the attention of the authorities and he keeps his base of operations mobile to reduce the chance of capture. We know this as throughout Exclusion Zone the narrative will swing away from our hero, detective Alex Harvey, to focus on the murderer – we follow the escalation in his crimes.

I mentioned Alex Harvey – he is the star of the show (and hopefully many more shows to follow) he has been engaged to investigate the disappearances that have been taking place in the Exclusion Zone. To assist with his investigations he recruits the services of Elian Gould, a secretive young woman who will prove to be both a help and a hindrance to Harvey as his investigations take him to the edge of the exclusion zone and the mysteries that lie within.

The narrative swings between past and present with a story spanning around 3o years. It is handled brilliantly and the story flows really well – time leaping in a novel can sometimes jar or feel clumsy, not so in Exclusion Zone. The characters we meet are really well defined and you will cheer, cry and despair at how they fare (did I mention the dark edge?)

As I stated at the start of this review I loved Exclusion Zone. If you are looking for an engrossing story set in a distinctive (and fabulously described) environment with a decidedly nasty bad guy then this is a book you need to read.

Exclusion Zone is published by Endeavour Press and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exclusion-Zone-J-M-Hewitt/dp/1530118778/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474395377&sr=1-1&keywords=exclusion+zone

I would also recommend catching up with JM Hewitt chatting all things Ukraine with Alex Shaw – they joined me earlier this year and you can see their full conversation here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=1577

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September 12

Apprentice in Death – J.D. Robb

The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people lay dead at Central Park’s ice skating rink. There’s a sniper loose on the streets of New York City, and Lieutenant Eve Dallas is about to face one of the toughest and most unsettling cases of her career.

Eve knows that only a handful of people could have carried out such an audacious but professional hit. Even more disturbing: this expert in death has an accomplice. Someone is being trained in the science of killing – and they have a terrifying agenda of their own. With a city shaken to its core, Eve and her team are forced to hunt not one but two killers. Worse still – this talented young apprentice has developed an insatiable taste for murder…

My thanks to Piatkus for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

Eve Dallas 43. That’s not her age – that is the number of full novels that she features in (and there are also a number of short stories). I’ve read them all, more than once in most cases…I love these books. As much as I love them I am aware that there are some stories which I enjoy more than others – there are books where the characters are developed but the “in Death” element is not as gripping as I would like.

So where does Apprentice in Death sit in the collection? Happily it is one I will be revisiting, a really strong addition to the series and one of the more chilling stories.

A sniper is terrorising New York. Three dead at Central Park and no apparent link between the victims. Dallas and her team have to analyse the murders, work out why they were targeted and ensure that the sniper does not strike again. It’s a race against time novel and J.D. Robb always does these well – she can easily convey the urgency and Dallas’s frustration over lack of progress. We see how she pulls in the resources of her team, husband Roarke is on hand to lend his unique skills and financial weight, Dr Mira to analyse the psychology, dependable Peabody and even “Dickhead” the lab tech – all present and correct as you would expect when Dallas is on the case. One of the strengths of the series is that the author has had so long to develop her supporting cast that regulars such as Eve’s oldest friend Mavis can be dropped to cameo role – we don’t need to see all the players in every book as we know they will return soon enough.

The sniper story takes an unexpected twist after a second attack takes place. This really raises the stakes and we get a proper look at one of J.D. Robb’s coldest killers to date. There were scenes which totally chilled me, a killer without compassion and Dallas unpicks their behaviour, lays out how their evil streak was nurtured and gives examples of how they terrorised others. It was often an uncomfortable read but it was handled expertly by the author and the reading was compelling.

Away from the murders regular readers will enjoy some interchanges between Dallas and Summerset – their relationship is going to hit an unexpected dynamic in Apprentice in Death…will things ever be the same again?

Apprentice in Death is published by Piatkus and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apprentice-Death-J-D-Robb/dp/034941081X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473720998&sr=1-1&keywords=apprentice+in+death

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September 7

The Last One – Alexandra Oliva

TWELVE CONTESTANTS

When Zoo agrees to take part in a new reality TV show, In the Dark, she knows that she will be tested to the limits of her endurance. Beating eleven competitors in a series of survival tasks deep in the forest, living on camera at the extremes of her comfort zone, will be the ultimate challenge before she returns home to start a family.

A GAME WITH NO END

As the contestants are overcome by hunger, injury and psychological breakdown, the mind games, tricks and hazards to which Zoo is subjected grow dark beyond belief. This isn’t what she signed up for: the deserted towns and gruesome props, the empty loneliness. Is this a game with no end? And what is happening away from the cameras’ gaze? Discovering the truth will be just the beginning…

I received my review copy from the publishers, Michael Joseph, through Netgalley

Imagine a reality tv show where the show and reality blur to the point that a contestant does not know where the show ends and the real world begins. That is The Last One – a game show overlaps with a national disaster and Zoo (our heroine) does not know that the world will never be the same again.

The Last One is cleverly written with narrative jumping from “present day Zoo”, struggling to survive on her own in a remote wilderness to win the prize in a survival game show. Then we are switched to “Zoo first joining the show”, finding her feet through the early challenges, sussing out the other competitors and learning the skills which she will need when the programme send her into the wilderness on her own.

Each of the contestants are defined by their jobs – Zoo, Waitress, Doctor. I really enjoyed the sections of the book where the competition was played out. Alexandra Oliva brilliantly describes the scene, plays out the challenges, shows the character interaction then as an aside includes a paragraph to show how the producers will twist an incident, manipulate the viewing public and give some extra “drama”. It really emphasised the game show scenes so even when Zoo is learning how to light a fire there is entertainment foremost in the chapter.

But away from the game there is a very serious real life drama unfolding. Early in the story the reader is made aware that something is very wrong. References are made to members of the production team who will not see how a challenge finishes. A scene is recorded but will never be aired. People are dying yet Zoo is oblivious, she is playing the game and she is going to follow the rules and she is going to win! No matter what OTT challenges the production team are throwing at her.

The Last One is a tense thriller which takes the familiarity of a game show and asks “what if everything went wrong”. A really enjoyable read with just the right amount of nasty to keep everything unpredictable.

The Last One is available now in Hardback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-One-Alexandra-Oliva/dp/0718182502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472897836&sr=8-1&keywords=the+last+one

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