My review

I downloaded this book as I loved the book blurb, it had the right amount of intrigue, right amount of suspense and a hint of paranormal to pull me in. I had to read about Dr Samantha Willerby. 

The story started with a clinical  psychologist finding three of her patients talking about a nightmare, about an underground Tube fire, using the same exact words. On further investigation, Sam finds no such evidence of fire, and soon her boyfriend also has the same nightmare. All the four of them are riddled with survivor’s guilt, of not helping others. Then three of her patients commit suicide as the guilt gets overbearing. And Sam finds herself having the same nightmare as her patients…. 

From here the book becomes a race against time, to get to the bottom of these nightmares, to find a solution and to save both herself and her boyfriend. 

I loved the way the author, A J Waines, has written the book. She has made Sam a strong woman and a great doctor, someone who helps patients even when she doesn’t have to. There is so much empathy in her; I see a reflection of myself in her in some scenes…

I liked the fact that the author has written Sam as a complete character who has a professional life along with a personal one, and Sam manages both beautifully, most of the times. I liked Sam’s quick wit and determination. 

A book is always interesting when there is a mysterious negative incident or a villain causing havoc in people’s lives, it makes the book all the more alive. Though I had guessed parts of the story, the last few pages took me by surprise. The why and how of the situation were well thought of and crafted in detail. I give full credit to the author for this novel approach to a story which otherwise could have been a run in the mill kinda book. 

The author being a psychotherapist herself has explored the human psyche, the darker bits in all of us and brought it out to the forefront without shying about it. Bad things happen and it is high time, we stopped hiding it. I applaud the author Alison J Waines to have the guts to write about it and deal with its horrors with great sensitivity. 

There are a few niggles, I didn’t like Sam initially. Being a doctor, I should have liked her but I couldn’t. Her attitude towards her sister wasn’t great, and sometimes I felt she still reacted in the same way as she used to as a child. Being a psychologist, she couldn’t see what was right in front of her when her sister’s pain was evident even to me. Samantha seemed to want to escape the situation with her sister, rather than face it head-on. 

I also didn’t like that she excused her boyfriend’s suspicious attitude and his ill treatment of her. It took her to the some time to stand up for herself. 

All this was in the initial parts of the story, in the latter half when the story becomes gripping, Samantha becomes a helluva main character, a strong intelligent doctor, whose investigation skills and caring for patients goes over and beyond. 

I loved this book, it had everything from suspense to mystery to investigation to dark human psyche  to family issues to social issues with a big dose of reality thrown in. A J Waines could literally take me away from my real life and pull me into the story till I just had to finish it. It was highly gripping, unputdownable and shocking… 

What more could I want from a suspense thriller. 

P. S. I have downloaded the second book in this series and I hope it is as exciting as this one. 

My rating : 4 stars 

About the Author

A. J. Waines worked as a psychotherapist for fifteen years before delving into writing psychological thrillers and crime novels. She has also worked numerous other jobs that sparked and contributed to her compelling stories. She lives in Southampton, United Kingdom, with her husband, where she enjoys moral dilemmas, tangles, and mysteries–and anything hidden under floorboards.

Book blurb 

Dr Samantha Willerby, a specialist in Post Traumatic Stress, has never seen anything like this before. Following a fire on the London Underground, three survivors seek her help – but although unmistakably traumatised, their stories don’t match the facts. Are they ‘faking it’? Sam’s confusion turns to horror when one by one, instead of recovering, they’re being driven to suicide. 

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

Then the nightmares begin for Sam

Product Details 

Publication date :  20th October 2016

Language : English 
Available on Amazon; free on kindle unlimited