-
REVIEW: Outside by Ragnar Jónasson
Outside piqued my interest for its devastating atmosphere. Iceland has always intrigued me, with its brutal and raw landscape and its beautiful but deadly mountainscapes it’s the perfect backdrop for a survival thriller. It’s a place I have longed to visit to photograph the Northern Lights in all their glory, so I enjoy reading about the country and its heart-breaking imagery. Ragnar Jónasson is a new author to me, and I look forward to discovering more of his stories. Four friends head out to the Icelandic Highlands for a weekend’s hunting trip. It’s a reunion of sorts, with the friends not having been together as a foursome for quite some…
-
REVIEW: The Search Party by Simon Lelic
The Search Party is a story that aims to entangle the reader into the web Simon Lelic has so expertly weaved. It incorporates the fear and danger of the forest – personally, there’s nothing more frightening than the open forest in the dead of the night. The branches reaching out and enveloping you in a death hug, the eerie noises that can empale you with terror, and the dark longs to crush you with its inky blackness. A group of friends is one member down, a disappearance, and the remainder of the group decides to lead a search party to locate her. However, what are their motives, and are they…
-
REVIEW: The Long Weekend by Gilly MacMillan
The Long Weekend is a psychological thriller that likes to live in your head rent-free. The story follows three couples who look to escape the city constraints and rent a converted barn in Northumbria for a long weekend. It’s abundantly clear that the couples all have their problems. Ruth and Toby have recently welcomed their baby boy Toby, but it isn’t the picnic the couple imagined, Ruth is struggling with alcoholism and her marriage is plagued with suspicion and paranoia. Jayne and Mark are ex-forces, and they are hoping to bury trauma from their tours in the Middle East. Emily and Paul are newly married and basking in their newfound…
-
REVIEW – The Need by Helen Phillips
The Need, I need a moment to review this book. It’s strange because although I devoured it, I am left feeling a bit like “what the fuck did I just read”? The Need follows the life of Molly, a Palaeobotanist that is struggling with the juggling act that is being a working mother. Working at the archaeological site they have discovered an alternate bible that has god as she. They give tours but with the alternate take on the bible, they are at risk from religious zealots who question its authenticity. Molly worries about potential attacks and is battling anxiety due to it. The Need delves into the pressures of…
