This is the second book by C.L.Taylor I have read and again this had my total attention from beginning to end.
The story is based around Lou Wandsworth who is 32 and trying to put her teenage years behind her. She returns home to her late fathers home after spending a few years in London and sees Mike the man who groomed her in her teenage years and later arrested and jailed for taking her to France for a weekend away that turned into much more. She sees Mike at a garden centre kissing a teenager and decides to go to the police with what she's seen but it falls on deaf ears and decides to take this on herself and save this poor girl from what she had to go through.
I liked at the start of every chapter there was a page or two of her life with Mike in her teenage years and then continued with the present. This book had more twists than I've read before and just loved that I was wrong footed a few times on where I thought this thriller was going. This was a fast paced realistic thriller that I couldn't put down and wasn't bored at any point as there was so much going on at such a pace. I liked how Mikes ex wife had a good side part that added a different dimension to this intense thriller.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Just read it. It’s one of them books that make you lose time, sleep and air.

Fab!

I enjoyed this book in the main but was just a little far fetched for me at times that aside it was a good read. I would recommend this book as it deal with up to date issues. I thank Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book and look forward to her next novel.

Lou has spent her adult life running from her past. Running from the man who groomed her but now she's back in her hometown only to find he's doing it again. The police won't help when the girl lie so it's down to Lou. Can she get the evidence to stop him and just who is after her?

Wow this is such a thrilling read. There are so many twists and turns to the story. It's fast paced and there's lots of drama to keep you turning the page. The ending was really good and so chilling. Absolutely brilliant and so well written.

There are few characters in this and it's not always easy to tell just who is good and bad. At times you question Lou's judgement but in the end it all falls into place.

My favourite from this author . A gripping page turner dealing with a difficult subject ! 4.5 stars and my thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my chance to read

The subject matter for this novel is potentially very sensitive, but Cally Taylor has written this novel in a manner which makes it quite inoffensive. There are three women of different ages featuring strongly in this story which relates how each woman gets involved with the same man. Lou's experience with him has left her emotionally scarred and afraid to commit to anyone for long, Wendy was married to him until things went horribly wrong and Chloe is currently smitten with him.
Parts of this book could have been uncomfortable to read were it not for the author's ability to put you in the character's shoes so well that you can understand exactly how Mike has captured their attention. The three women really don't click to begin with but as the story progresses and they find that they need to work together to get justice for each other. None of them fully trusts each other until Mike's actions prove to them that he has lied, cheated and deceived all of them in order to get what he wants.
The criminal side of the story cleverly takes a back seat whilst still making its presence felt in the background with the whole novel being more about the effects men such as Mike have on their victims and how these women will never be the same again, even many years on.
Without giving away any of the plot, I was extremely impressed by the ultimate twist in the tale - one that I really wasn't expecting and left me retrieving my jaw from the floor and my eyebrows from the ceiling. Absolutely brilliant.
Cally Taylor continues to go from strength to strength with each novel she writes, which can only bode well for the future. What date is the next one due out....?

This is a terrific book – a exact definition of a page turner.

The main character is Lou who is in her 30s and struggling with relationships after being groomed by her karate teacher, Mike, when she was 14. Lou returns to her family home for the first time since Mike destroyed her life and finds that he is still acting the same way. What follows is completely summed up by the title ‘The Fear’ and has many twists and turns. Lou’s actions didn’t always make sense but as the plot unfolds you can accept that someone might do this if they had been the target of such abuse in the past. The drama got more and more intense until you wondered how this was ever going to be unravelled in a satisfying way for the reader.

I don’t want to say anymore so as not give spoilers except to say that the ending was very unexpected and brilliant.

Her writing of how young people can be groomed is exceptional – should almost be required reading for 13/14 years olds but I’d be worried that it would cause them to be over anxious. Maybe for parents of 13/14 year olds to help see the warning signs.

This is the second CL Taylor book I have read and I am excited to find that there are three more I can read immediately plus any she writes in future.

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brilliant story, I could not stop reading it so I was glad it was snowing. Many twists and turns and some you would not expect. This pulls you right in to the story as the descriptions are brilliantly written you can see and smell what is going on. Shocks at the end that you would not thin of, very good characters I thought it was going to be a bit slow at the beginning but it needs to be to set the scene and the back ground. easily 5 stars and will go in my top 5 books of the year.

I started this book at lunchtime on a Wednesday at work and finished the next morning at breakfast- quite literally couldn't put it down! Lou was groomed by a man 17 years her senior when she was a teenager before the sex offenders register even existed. Now she's an adult and suspects he is preying on another young girl. The book is told from the perspective of three different people who know Mike and there are constant twists and turns. This is the best thriller I've read in a very long time!

From the moment I started The Fear I was totally hooked, Taylor drew me into a dark and tangled web and didn’t let me go until the final chapter. Lou was groomed by a much older man when she was a young teenager and now it’s many years later and she’s still struggling to get past it. Grooming is one of those words that sends a chill down my spine as a parent to two girls, the manipulation and abuse associated with it put the fear into me, what an aptly titled book.

This is told from multiple perspectives, Lou both in 2007 and via her diary entries when she was fourteen, then you hear from Chloe, the teenager who Lou fears is being used in the same way that she was and finally, Wendy. You’re never quite sure exactly what Wendy’s angle is or how she fits into the story, but when it’s revealed I did one of those, oohhh I see what you did there moments, super clever! This is extremely fast paced and sharply written, it begs to be read in one sitting as there’s so much tension and anticipation about what will happen next, both in the flashbacks and the 2007 storyline.

I don’t want to discuss the plot much more, just know that if you’re a psychological thriller fan, this is a must read. The characterization is just as strong as the writing and the story is gripping, I really couldn’t ask for more!

The Fear in three words: Absorbing, Shocking and Thrilling.

An unputdownable read, The Fear has everything you ever asked for in a thriller. A stalker, a strong woman fighting her demons from the past, and vulnerable young girl in danger, all connected by a conniving monster of a man.

No fluff, no poetic writing style, just raw emotions; that’s what this story is about. It was sickening to read what poor Lou went through, and I’m not talking only about being abducted by a pervert at age fourteen. I’m talking about all those comments people made about her being the evil seductress, and getting what she’s asked for. As someone who went through something similar around that age, this ignorance is what angers me the most. People who find themselves in these kind of situations don’t ask to be raped, groomed, or abused. Period. They just don’t. People asked to be loved, but sometimes what that means, gets muddled in their head. It’s a very easy mistake to make at such a young age.

This is not a story with red herrings and big reveals and unexpected plot twists, although there are a few turning points, don’t worry. We know who the asshole is, what he’s done, and what he’s planning to to next. Just as much as this is a story about women overcoming their fear, and taking back the control over their lives, the author also touches upon topics of parental neglect, and the power of forgiveness.

Brilliantly crafted characters, alternating perspective, bad decisions followed by even worse ones create the mounting tension that makes this book a highly addictive read.

I was gripped by this book from the beginning. We meet Lou who was groomed as a 14 year old by Mike, Chloe, a 13 year old who is being groomed today and a mysterious woman called Wendy. The story is told through them. This is a realistic story of a paedophile without being too graphic. I loved the twists and can only highly recommend this book.

C L Taylor's gripping novels are the type that work their way into your subconscious and emerge as disturbing - if entertaining - dreams. Seriously, I've woken up in a panic after reading her books This is no exception, and I expect to wake up in a panic for weeks to come. The writing is that vivid.

Well written, with engaging characters I have no hesitation in recommending this.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review,

The Fear tells the story of Louise, a schoolgirl who ran away to France with her karate teacher, thinking it was just for the weekend. Instead it turns into something a whole lot more, which leads to him going to prison for five years. Through a series of flashbacks you learn what happened, and also why Louise never testified against him in court. Told from three different perspectives, you are thrown into this story, and watch as the twists and turns unfold. Nothing is what it seems in this book, and you will question just what is going on - just like Louise does.

Very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, this was a thrilling read that captured my interest from the very start. The way the story unfolds keeps your interest, and I adored the ending - although I won't say anything else about that!

Definitely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Wow this book was so intense. I love CL Taylor's thrillers, they just transport me into the book and it's like I'm living the whole thing along with the characters. This story is just full of twists and turns, every few pages you think you know what's going to happen but you absolutely don't. Just when you think things are starting to come together, they're really not!

Lou is a great main character to go in this novel journey with because she is just like you and me. But then you find out that there is so much more to her than meets the eye. I never feel like I really got to know Lou, she never fully let her barriers down for me, but I can forgive her that, that's for sure. There are a few other female supporting characters in this novel too and I found those characters, despite being quite different to me, to be easy to get along with as well. Strong characters meant that I didn't feel alone going through everything they were going through!

The setting of this novel is also easy to picture, this author uses actual road names and place names and so you can put yourself into this English rural setting and continue to live this story alongside the characters. This novel definitely deals with some difficult issues, I don;t want to list exactly what because I don't do spoilers but I think that they are incredibly well-written and sensitive to those who might have gone through any of the things that these characters have. There are some quite violent scenes as well, as you might expect from a thriller, but they are also fabulously written and scared me but made me want to read on and find out more.

I love C L Taylor's novels and this one is no exception, I read it in two sittings because I had to find out what was going to happen and I know you're going to love it!

18 years after Lou left her home town to go and live in London, she makes the return to her home.  Now 32 years old she is coming back to memories, dreams, demons and nightmares from her past.  She discovers that Mike,the man who was once the love of her life, is now looking at destroying another innocent teenage girls life. Lou will do everything to stop this from happening at all costs.

This story is set out in chapters from the perspective of each of the main three female characters as they alternate through the story.  They all have a connection to Mike in some form, but it is Lou who takes more of a lead as you learn of her life through memories, her experiences of being groomed by Mike until she is so besotted with him that she runs away to France.  It is only there that she actually see's what sort of danger she is in from him.  The character of Mike is brilliant in the way that he has been portrayed, don't think for a moment that I liked him but, the author gives an image of a man who is an evil, conniving and manipulative ******! The way he has of manipulating not only his victim but also the families and friends is one that left me with a whole host of angry, frustrating emotions. He has a mask that others cannot see past, he shows the community a side that he wants them to see rather than what he actually is.

I was quickly drawn into this story and there I remained until its very last page.  It is addictive as I worried and wondered through frustrations, anger and despair over the characters and what they could possibly do?  Would they give into his lies and succumb to the fear?

If you are after a convincing, addictive, psychological manipulative thriller, then let me Highly Recommend this book to you.  A story that not only deals with events of the past, but also how those events play a part in the present and can affect a person for years to come.

I am not sure there are words enough in the English language to describe how this book made me feel. It is brilliantly and heartachingly breathtaking.

A must read.

Having read a couple of so-so books later I was really wanting a book I could really get involved in. The Fear was just what I needed! I have really enjoyed C.L.Taylor's previous books & really enjoyed them, this one was no exception.

When Lou was a teenager she ran away to France with Mike, her teacher. She found out very quickly he was not the love of her life! Damaged by this experience she finds it hard to have meaningful relationships. When clearing out her childhood home after the death of her father she sees Mike kissing a teenage girl. Determined to make sure he is not going to ruin another young life the way her's was ruined she puts a plan into action. It doesn't work out as she anticipated!

This was a nail biting tale. At times I thought Lou was crazy! Wendy was a deeply disturbed character & my heart ached for poor Chloe. Lots of surprises and a gripping plot makes for a terrific five star read.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for letting me read & review this great read!

This was an absolutely gripping book. It had me intrigued from page one, and I kept turning the pages, wanting to know what happens next. I liked the character development, how different sides to each personality was unveiled. The voices in each chapter came alive. I was hooked.
Sadly what let it down for me were a number of factual errors, which for me, spoilt my enjoyment of the book. These were mainly linked to the setting of the book in 2007. If it had been set in 2017, these wouldn't be a problem. I find it disappointing these can slip through without being picked up in editing.
Some parts of the story were just too far fetched to be believable. On balance I'd give it 3.5*.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.