Member Reviews
Page turner. Such an interesting and fast read that kept me guessing. I will read more of this author for sure
What would you do when your worst nightmare happens and nobody believes you? This is the case for poor Alex and as she falls further into paranoia, one begins to wonder what is real and what is not.
A very enjoyable well written novel
If you can suspend belief here, this is a very enjoyable novel.
Lots of twists and turns an a good plot well executed.
Omg! This book was absolutely amazing. So many twists and perfect execution. You never knew which way was up. Kept you on edge and not really sure until the end. Terrifying in its believability! Will definitely look for more from this author!
Is Alex losing the plot or did it really happen? She claims she was abducted and sexually assaulted but there is no evidence, just her account of it. Was she hit by a falling branch or is something more sinister afoot?? I really wanted to believe in Alex as my narrator, but not all narrators are reliable are they?
Lawler kept the pace of this thriller going by switching perspectives for chapters. I spent a lot of time with Alex but also those around her including one detective, Laura Best who I really did not like. She is so not my kind of woman. She’s one of those women who knocks others’ crowns off rather than straightening them as the meme goes. She was more interested in progressing her career than supporting a victim or finding the truth. In her mind the crime was solved without investigation. Horrible woman, awful police officer!!
Lawler’s debut is an addictive one; I devoured in an afternoon curled up with my kindle. I was totally drawn in to Alex’s world, fearing for her at every turn. I really didn’t know who was playing with Alex’s sanity and trying their damnedest to break her. I had to know what was going on. Once I’d recovered from the end, I went and downloaded another of the author’s books!
Meh…
Another entry in the “unreliable female narrator” genre. Implausible plot and hard to finish.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for eARC of this book.
Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed
I loved the premise of this story and I loved the beginning because it totally freaked me out. As the story went on it became more and more unbelievable then to just preposterous however, even though I knew the who it was the why I was waiting for. All in all, I thought it was a good book.
The opening to this book actually made me feel a little sick imagining myself in the same predicament as the main character, Alex. It was scary, definitely started off with a bang
ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ɪᴛ ʙᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙɪɢɢᴇꜱᴛ ꜰᴇᴀʀꜱ? ᴡᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ, ᴜɴᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ, ᴛᴏ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋ, ʟɪɢʜᴛꜱ ɪɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏ ʀᴇᴄᴏʟʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ. ᴀʟᴇx, ᴀ ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ ᴏꜰꜰ ꜱʜɪꜰᴛ ᴀᴛ ʜᴇʀ ʜᴏꜱᴘɪᴛᴀʟ ʜᴇᴀᴅꜱ ᴏᴜᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴜᴘ ᴛɪᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴ ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛᴀʙʟᴇ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴇɴꜱᴜᴇꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀᴅᴅᴇɴɪɴɢ ᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴇʏ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ᴡʜᴏ ᴅɪᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ. ᴡɪʟʟ ꜱʜᴇ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜱᴛʀɪᴋᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ?
ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ, ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘꜱ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ᴇᴅɢᴇ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴇᴀᴛ ᴘꜱʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ!
I failed to find anything to like in this preposterous story. An over the top storyline that seemed totally nonsensical.
I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well-written characters. This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I would recommend this story to all thriller and who-done-it lovers.
A great book. I couldn’t stop reading it. I had to finish it. The book was a read. I highly recommend it.
This one is twisty and dark and will keep you guessing. Is Alex a reliable narrator? What's really happening? No spoilers from me.
This was a total rollercoaster of a read for me. Once I started it I was totally engrossed in it, Some of the chapters were quite disturbing to read and I had some OMG moments reading.
Well I will admit that the opening to this book caught me somewhat unawares. It is dark, twisted, and skin-pricklingly tense and makes you sit up and take note. The protagonist, Alex, waking to find herself strapped to a table, naked and being threatened by someone who is dressed as a surgeon. And that is possibly one of the least disturbing parts of this whole scene. And yet as it plays out it is very clear that there is far more to Alex's plight than meets the eye, a kind of back story which we can guess at but which takes a while into the story to get to the full truth of.
Alex is being targeted, but in such a unique, clever and disturbing way that it undermines her credibility as not only a victim, but as a doctor, something that she only adds to in the way she manages her post-traumatic stress. With alcohol. But then when nobody you talk to believes you, what else are you to do. I'll be honest, Alex was a very difficult character to warm to. She is clearly a victim and I had no doubts that, as incredulous as her tale was, that what happens to her in the first scene of the book, genuinely happens. But there was just something about her, her personality, perhaps too arrogant, that made it hard to feel wholly sympathetic towards her, and easy to understand why her colleagues didn't fully trust her. That said, Liz Lawler has done a brilliant job as in spite of not entirely liking Alex, I wanted to see the whole thing play out, Needed to know who was toying with her and why, and there are actually several suspects in the small cast of characters, any one of whom could be taking glee in seeing her world fall apart.
There is a growing sense of unease and dread that builds throughout the book. A feeling that at any time something bad is going to happen again, and it does in fact, several times, much of which is designed to undermine Alex further, especially in the eyes of the police. Well, one of them at least. Oh my life, if there is one thing that really got my dander up when listening to this book it was bloody Detective Constable Laura Best. If there was a worse advocate for the #MeToo movement, women's rights and providing a safe space and understanding ear for women who report sexual abuse then I think you would be hard pressed to find them. Ambitious, cunning and ultimately jealous, she really made me angry. So many times she turned a blind eye to the obvious in a bid to find evidence against Alex - gah. She winds me up even now just thinking about her. She was a horrid person, perhaps even the the reason I was so keen to see what happened in the end and to see Alex get some kind of justice. She is countered, thank the lord, by her senior officer, DI Greg Turner. He was far more measured, more willing to listen and see the bigger picture and a much nicer character to boot. Far from perfect, but more human and likeable. Without him on Alex's side, I think there would have just been one antagonist too many in this book to be bearable.
This is a book that has peaks and troughs in terms of the tension, moments that will make you angry and make your skin crawl. I'll be completely honest and say that I kind of figured out the why of the story by the half way point, and if you know anything about the Christian religion, or even your Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, there is quite an obvious hint dropped in the middle of the book that helped me twig the who as well. But it was intriguing to see how it would all play out, how far the 'Surgeon' was willing to take things in order to finally defeat Alex. And the ending will get the pulse racing because by this point I found myself completely on Alex's side and the heightened sense of jeopardy actually had me walking faster in time with the increased pacing in the book.
A tense hospital based thriller, enhanced by the author's understanding of the medical system and with characters who you will love to hate, and will compel you to read onwards, if only to see if they will finally get their just desserts. Very glad I've finally found the time to 'read' this book.
This story follows Alex Taylor, a doctor who wakes up strapped to an operating table and tortured. Nobody believes her story. and she struggles to make the police investigate.
I found this book interesting and entertaining, but it wasn't as thrilling as I'd hoped it'd be. That being said, it was still something I would recommend to other readers. I found myself sympathetic towards Alex as she navigated the ups and downs of dealing with her situation. My only gripe with this is the ending, as I feel it could have been a little better.
This book had a great plot and had me guessing til the end. Would read more from this author in the future
I have a love of a good crime thriller and this one definitely was a well written one.
Following Dr Alex Taylor who wakes up strapped to an operating table, she is frightened and doesn't know how she got there. What's worse is that someone is standing over her and she doesn't know what's happening. Alex then waked up In the ER and is telling people she was raped but no one believes her.
The book was definitely full of tension, it to me was slowly built up over the period of the book which I love in a book. I like that I kept guessing whodunnit and even though at the end it was quite far fetched to me I enjoyed how it ended and when we found out who was the one killing other women.
Definitely a strongly written book by Liz Lawler, I liked her style of writing and how she kept me in suspense.
I really enjoyed this medical thriller and find myself thinking about it still months after when I finished it. I found the characters credible and the story line interesting. I would definitely read more by this author.