Author: Sarah Stovell
Narrator: Katie Scarfe
Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd.
Publication Date: June 2017
Genre: Thriller / Suspense
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Bo Luxton has it all - a loving family, a beautiful home in the Lake District and a clutch of best-selling books to her name.
Enter Alice Dark, an aspiring writer who is drifting through life, with a series of dead-end jobs and a freeloading boyfriend. When they meet at a writers' retreat, the chemistry is instant, and a sinister relationship develops.... Or does it?
My Thoughts: Exquisite by new to me author, Sarah Stovell, has so many twists, turns and jaw dropping moments, this reader began to feel a little vertigo. This story doesn’t come with any warning labels, but if I were to give one, it would be to hold on tight as this ride moves really fast and gets quite bumpy at times. The reader should also prepare themselves to be triggered as well as shocked and outraged at the behavior displayed. The gaslighting is so well crafted and over the top that I couldn’t help feeling a lot of the same emotions displayed within the pages of this story.
When Bo Luxton and Alice Dark meet at a writer’s retreat, the reader is made to feel like Alice will greatly benefit from Bo’s mentoring and feedback. All Alice has ever wanted to do was write a best-selling novel and when she has the opportunity to attend, she jumps at the opportunity. Bo and Alice feel an instant bond and camaraderie and a friendship develops. Bo provides the mothering nurturing quality that Alice has missed out having her entire life. Alice makes Bo feel young again with the stars in the eyes enthusiasm she hasn’t felt in a long time. Bo’s focus on her daughters doesn’t completely fulfill her and, for me, it felt like Alice was a project Bo takes on. Alice needs her help to be all she can be.
Something much more deeper and intimate develops between these two women and, as the book is told from both women’s perspectives, it clouds the issue for the reader when the relationship turns toxic. At times, it was a struggle to determine who the protagonist was.
The audiobook format of this story was excellent. The narration, performed by Katie Scarfe was brilliant. She supplies the perfect intonation and emotion to give the reader an excellent sense of who these characters are, without giving the reader too many clues to the character’s true nature.
My Final Verdict: Overall, this book was simply amazing. Stovell authors a story that holds the reader’s interest weaving the events surrounding these intriguing characters in a finely structured knot. I was floored as the story concluded with events that I wasn’t expecting, but thoroughly enjoyed. I highly recommend this book to fans of the mystery, thriller and suspense genres as well as readers who like stories that keep the surprises coming in the most astonishing ways.
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