Digital Reads Reviews

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A brilliant amalgamation of suspense with paranormal.

Forever, together, we are dust. Pieces of everything; pieces of all of us.

Dust, the play, was brought back after 20 years, and came along with it was the curse and the unsolved murder of the actress who played the lead. Chloe, Jess, and Ryan who worked in the theater in 2005 were lost in the aisles of life after the third show, but their motes wandered into the 2019, bringing with it the overcast of the past, some remembered, some forgotten, but always present in the fringes of memory.

Forever, together, we are dust. Pieces of everything; pieces of all of us.

The prose… Oh the prose… It gave me goosebumps, there was something so haunting about it. I peered closely looking at the choice of words and the way they were juxtaposed to give off the maximum effect. I was in awe of this author whose instincts brought out the most atmospheric read.

Forever, together, we are dust. Pieces of everything; pieces of all of us.

Subtlety of the unknown, the twilight where everything was held at just the right balance, the play of shadows in the light were hidden in the fringes of the writing which winked at me every few pages. It was not the spotlight on the stage that held my attention but the darkness and its movements at the back which made me shiver.

Forever, together, we are dust. Pieces of everything; pieces of all of us.

The author, Louise Beech, made me feel as if something or someone was treading over my grave. I was awake with my heart on my throat, feeling as if I were afloat on the cloud of slumber. Why couldn’t I see what was hidden but only feel its movements?

Forever, together, we are dust. Pieces of everything; pieces of all of us.

Suspense and dread equally took up place in my heart where I wanted to read more, yet stop to hold off the knowledge. The story told to me in two timelines 2019 and 2005 where the past of the ouija board played on the senses of the present. The lives of the three, who played the board and invited those who ought to remain suspended, showed its effects right through the pages, the darkness of the moment casting its shadows on the characters.

Forever, together, we are dust. Pieces of everything; pieces of all of us.

Every time I shut the book and opened it later, I felt I was there right there in the dust that covered my kindle, my insides trembled as I started reading. There were the blurred sight, the gasping inhales, and the shiver-y sighs as I traveled further into the story. I reacted more viscerally to this book than any others in my life.

Forever, together, we are dust. Pieces of everything; pieces of all of us.

I read the lines, I breathed the words, my soul got absorbed into the atmosphere that was this tale. My moments in suspended time started and ended in the pages of this book.

Modifying the author’s words, my tribute to her

Forever in the word,
Together with the page,
I am transformed into dust.
Pieces of the board,
Pieces of the stage,
I sigh when I turn to dust.
Power of the author
Revel as a reader
I dance in her shine as dust.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

The Dean Wilson Theatre is believed to be haunted by a long-dead actress, singing her last song, waiting for her final cue, looking for her killer…

Now Dust, the iconic musical, is returning after twenty years. But who will be brave enough to take on the role of ghostly goddess Esme Black, last played by Morgan Miller, who was murdered in her dressing room?

Theatre usher Chloe Dee is caught up in the spectacle. As the new actors arrive, including an unexpected face from her past, everything changes. Are the eerie sounds and sightings backstage real or just her imagination? Is someone playing games?

Is the role of Esme Black cursed? Could witchcraft be at the heart of the tragedy? And are dark deeds from Chloe’s past about to catch up with her?

Not all the drama takes place onstage. Sometimes murder, magic, obsession and the biggest of betrayals are real life. When you’re in the theatre shadows, you see everything.

And Chloe has been watching…

Publication Date: 16th April 2020

36 Responses

    1. Always welcome. Thank you so much for having me ❤️ best books of this month amdist this crisis which has shattered my heart

          1. Oh, you know… Same old… Trying to read, but can’t find the strength and drinking too much. Lmao!! Is the pandemic over, yet?? Cause I’m super done with it… 🙄

  1. Another wonderful review, Shalini! Hope sometimes we will get your reviews as audio recordings or vidcaps too. It could be also very interesting to watch you during you reading books like this one. I am sure, it would be a wonderful givaway too. 🙂 Michael

  2. Wow, wonderful review Shalini. This is not my usual genre, but you have almost got me hooked. The quotes, your feelings and thoughts are beautifully written.

    1. Thank you so much Carla. This book affected me right down to my soul as if the things were really happening around me. Quite a different read

    1. This book affected me very much, the way the words were chosen, the way it woven together to give me hints of the tale without really telling me anything much. Everything was in the shadows. As if I was moving in a mist where I was told everything and nothing. Very very different book. I love paranormal and mystery. Finding myself liking horror. Can’t see mom’s Tamil horror serials as even the garish make up and bad direction scares the heck out of me. But I can read such books without much fear. Some fear is usually expected

  3. Wow this one really got to you, beautiful review. I like the way Louise creates atmosphere and makes it feel so realistic. This novel is also all the better for having invoked her own experience working in a local theatre. Just brilliant.

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