Novels featuring an unreliable narrator are a recurring theme, but “Then" must have one of the most questionable, as Izzy for most of the book, seems unable to recall her past and has problems with recognising people. The novel is as chilling as its setting – a London suffering from a cataclysmic freeze that has happened suddenly without warning and which has caused complete power failure, multiple fires and the breakdown of society, leaving the survivors picking amongst the ruins to find shelter and food. Izzy’s narrative consists of a complex mix of real and imagined memories, making it difficult to distinguish between the two. Julie Myerson has written a heart wrenching novel about the strength of love and a mother’s protective feeling for her children. It concludes with an agonising decision that is both moving and haunting and does much to explain Izzy’s state of mind.

Emotional, profound and rather disturbing - Myerson's response to 9/11 is bleak but affecting. Full review on my blog here: http://annabookbel.net/dystopian-response-to-9-11-then-julie-myerson ( )

London, and a curious apocalypse has befallen the city. One February day, the temperature soared. At first, Londoners basked in the unseasonal warmth, but as buildings began to erupt into flames, exuberance turned to panic. Then the temperature dropped again and snow began to fall, plunging Britain into a frozen permafrost.

The tale is related by a narrator who struggles to remember what happened, or who she is. Holed up in an office building in the City with a small group of strangers, she experiences flashbacks and begins to catch small glimpses of her life as it was before. Eventually, the truth is unveiled and the collision of personal tragedy and collective disaster comes to light.

I love a good disaster movie, and the meteorological catastrophe underpinning this story hit all the buttons for me. Myerson's descriptions of a familiar city in crisis were evocative and, at times, moving.

The characters are excellent. Each earns their own place in the story, and Myerson has created a story with no more or no fewer characters than were required to carry out the plot. In particular, I thought the narrator's voice was very well-written, with stark confusion and misunderstanding pervasive throughout.

My only gripe is that it takes a long time to get going. The first few chapters are entirely disjointed, which is vital to understanding the narrator's state of mind, but I felt this part of the book was longer than it needed to be. If you start to lose patience halfway through - don't! Persevere, and it gets much better towards the end. You'll be glad you did. ( )