Digital Reads Reviews

Many thanks to Tracy Fenton and Compulsive Readers for my spot on this Blog Tour.

Oh my! Eva found herself locked in the attic with her parents getting her food and water. She was apparently in an accident and had lost her memory. But nothing made sense to her anymore. The clues obtained from the subtle actions of her parents burned a single sentence in her brain – She had to escape, her mother was a liar!!

My first book by author Isabel Ashdown led me down the cliff of rocky precipice where I knew there was something hidden under every rock. Eva was portrayed well as a confused, partially amnesiac teen where the returning memory brought out her panic and fear. Her character was the driving force behind this novel.

I loved the way the author could create an atmosphere of swirling darkness around her. The continuous shafts of gray and light made me feel as if I was in the midst of an approaching storm. Twists after every few chapters made sure that I would read the book with bated breath.

The author’s writing with the insertion of a parallel story made me think about rumbling clouds which would bring about lightning ready to strike the nearest victim down. The story was a slow start with repetitive scenes, but the book picked up pace, and I was soon swept into my kindle by the force of the author’s words.

Sometimes even the subtle strokes of a sentence can show a wealth of approaching action. The parallel story lines were deftly connected, though I could guess the ending, it still left me shocked. This was one such story where I didn’t want to be proved right.

I was left with the two lines burning a hole into my psyche.

“Twisted are the people who travel the path toward darkness. More twisted are those who sell their soul to the devil.”

And what do I say about the authors who write about this. They are a clever lot who know how to make their point via a fictional theme.

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

All my reviews can be read here

Isabel Ashdown was born in London and grew up on the Sussex coast. Her writing career took off ten years ago, after she won first prize in a national novel opening competition judged by Fay Weldon, the late Sir John Mortimer and thriller writer Michael Ridpath. The novel, GLASSHOPPER, went on to be twice named as one of the best books of the year, and Isabel now writes full-time alongside her work at the University of Chichester, mentoring students as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow.

For the past two years she has hosted the creative writing workshop in the Orion Incident Room of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, always a full-house event!

Website

www.isabelashdown.com

Twitter

@IsabelAshdown

Facebook

www.facebook.com/IsabelAshdownBooks

Instagram

www.instagram.com/isabelashdown_writer

When 17-year-old Eva Olsen awakes after a horrific accident that has left her bedbound, her parents are right by her side. Caring and kind, they watch over her night and day in the attic room of their family home in the forests of Norway.

But the accident has left Eva without her most recent memories. And someone isn’t telling her the truth. As secrets from the night of the accident begin to surface, Eva realises – she has to escape her parents’ house and discover the truth. But what if someone doesn’t want her to find it?

Publication Date: 10th September 2019

Publisher: Trapeze Books