Thursday 23 March 2017

Book Review - The Escape by C.L. Taylor

Amazon UK
Title:  The Escape
Author: C.L.  Taylor
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Avon 
Publication Date: 23rd March 2017 
Rating: 5 Stars

"Look after your daughter's things. And your daughter…"
When a stranger asks Jo Blackmore for a lift she says yes, then swiftly wishes she hadn't.

The stranger knows Jo's name, she knows her husband Max and she's got a glove belonging to Jo's two year old daughter Elise.

What begins with a subtle threat swiftly turns into a nightmare as the police, social services and even Jo's own husband turn against her.

No one believes that Elise is in danger. But Jo knows there's only one way to keep her child safe – RUN.

Wonderfully immersive piece of writing that has had me continually pondering exactly what may be the truth, all the while absorbed in this fabulous book. 

There is a great deal of tension from the first page, which is just what I want from this sort of book, and the sense of danger, or there being something not quite right with all the presented information doesn't leave me at all. 

Jo Blackmore appears as though she could be a rather unreliable narrator, given she admits to a few mental health problems including panic attacks and a form of agoraphobia. She often seems rather paranoid, right from the start, so it is really hard to know whether you should be believing everything she says. However as she is the main point of view, I found I was taking everything at face value, while the depths of my brain was working on if there were any holes. 

Whatever you feel about Jo, there is one thing for certain, she believes her daughter, Elise is in danger, and that she is too, and she isn't really sure what to do, as it seems that no one else believes her, and very slowly her life is turning into a living nightmare, and she decides that life on the run is for the best...

Having learnt from previous books by C.L. Taylor, I made sure that I set aside a day to read this where I would be ideally uninterrupted so that I could relish every second I spent reading The Escape, and I finished it far quicker than I was expecting. I completely lost track of the time, and read it in one sitting and found the writing to be compulsive reading. I needed to know what was going to happen next at all times. 

I feel as though I had been alongside Jo on this journey, and that her ups and downs were mine. I feel exhausted for having gone through what she has, even if I was only reading about it.  This is possibly the best book C.L. Taylor has written, probably eclipsing even The Lie in my affections. 

This is everything that the author does well, writes a compelling story that draws you in, until it becomes a part of you. I am so impressed by The Escape and can't believe that I have finished it already, and will have to wait ages for another book by the author. 

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon for this copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

1 comment:

  1. On my reading list. Thanks for a fantastic review as always.

    ReplyDelete

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