Wendy Clarke

Possible Triggers - Rape and Child Abuse
It's a gripping thriller with three major twists. The story revolves around Ailsa, a single mother taking care of her special needs son on a remote Scottish island. One day, her childhood friend Jonah returns to the island. But is it a happy reunion? Alisa's son is saying that there’s a man knocking on his window at night, asking to be let in. Could it be Jonah? What does he want? Is Ailsa safe with him back around? It's also a twist-filled domestic thriller that is as hauntingly cold as it is heatedly dramatic. There are lots of hints of psychological thrills and terror set on this remote Scottish island. The remoteness of the island itself could easily account for 95% of the terror. The story is written mainly from Ailsa and Jonah’s perspectives...but also the 3rd person...dead Callum is thrown in in the present with some "what was it like "then" flashbacks. It's somewhat slow-paced at first, but eventually picks up speed. I loved the setting of the Scottish island, and the story had plenty of twists, turns, along with red herrings. Ailsa's challenges as a parent are well and truthfully described, and her son's personality is very well done. A really good read and the BIG reveal...? You will never see it coming. I will also put the trigger warnings at the top of this review but will also include a warning here... there is a rape and child abuse as part of the story.… (más)

At the beginning of this book you are introduced to Alice, a young woman who has no job and no fiancee once she finds out he's seeing someone else. She does what most of us do, makes plans with her best friend to come visit for a weekend, the time away will do her some good and clear her head, right?

She's placed into an extremely akward situation when she gets to Joanna's house, only to find out she's not home, but her new fiancee is. As the book goes along and still no JoAnna, the husband finally confesses that Joanna is missing and that she's been kidnapped and the captor is demainding ransom money. Mark looks guilty all along, wanting Alice to lie to the police and tell them that they've heard from Joanna, but they have not.

I liked what a loyal friend Alice was through this whole book, alhthough it was painfully obvious Joanna never really deserved to be her friend at all, she used her and fed off of Alice's desperate need for friendship most of their lives. Lots of secrets come to light, and they are not what you think. This book surprised me and it will you too. Thank you for a wild ride of a story, NetGalley!… (más)

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchage for an honest review.

I am giving this book 3/5 stars for the epilogue only. Without it I would only give it 2/5.

I feel like this book was split. The first half of the book was very dull about an extremely whiny woman. She had zero backbone to her, I understand she is upset because her fiancee just revealed that he impregnated another woman. So, when she got a text message from her childhood best friend whom she hasn't seen in ten years, she was happy to have someone take her mind off of her troubles. Only her troubles are about to get much worse when she goes to visit her friend and it turns out she has been missing for days.

I love psychological thrillers, this one fell short for me. It was very bleh until the end where it was twists were coming out of everywhere! The epilogue though....loved that!… (más)

There nothing in Alice’s life that didn’t go completely wrong in the last couple of weeks: her employer laid her off, her father didn’t want to see her and now, her partner leaves her because he is having a baby with another woman. After days in bed, she gets a message from an old friend. Joanna. Her former best friend with whom she has lost contact, but now, Joanna wants to meet her to get to know the man she’s going to marry. Could there be a better excuse to leave everything behind at least for a couple of days? Obviously, Joanna must be quite successful living in one of the new posh apartment blocks which must be super expensive. However, when, Alice knocks on the door, there is just Mark, Joanna’s husband to be and he knows nothing of a visitor. Joanna is not there, also the next day, she doesn’t show up. Alice feels increasingly uncomfortable until Mark tells her that Joanna has been kidnapped and that he needs her help to get her back.

Told from Alice’s point of view, you go through a horrendous mass of emotions – emotions which could hardly be more contradictory. Wendy Clarke leads the reader through a tour de force of lies, secrets and very spooky and distressing moments that, at times, give you the creeps. Just like her protagonist, you do not know whom to believe or trust, the whole situation she is caught in feels like a big ghost train rushing towards a giant obstacle without preparing for the impact.

I totally adore plots which keep you alert throughout the whole narration. It is those seemingly insignificant side notes that reveal that there’s so much you do not know, that all characters have some blind spots you don’t see and that everything might be completely different from what you expect or believe. Even though I found Alice a bit too naïve and shallow, I liked to follow her.

The further the plot gets, the higher the pace and suspense, thus a true page-turner that entertained me well.… (más)