From the premise I was intrigued to read Spiral. The plot follows a mother on a flight to LA to help her son. He’s the first officer but has no idea she’s on board. Ten hours into the flight, something goes wrong: an engine fails; the plane goes into a steep dive and everyone on board dies. But then the mother wakes up, it’s one hour before the crash and everyone is safe. Until the chain of events begins to happen again, and again and again. The mother is the only one on board who knows what will happen and everyone’s life depends on her. A well written and pacy novel that will keep you hooked to the end. Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph Penguin Random House and the author for the chance to review.

An unusual book with an unusual premise...aircraft disaster meets mob rule meets fragmented family life. Well written.

Wild ride!

This was a thriller in every sense of the word. I loved the groundhog day aspect, sometimes a little sci fi can draw me out of a book, but not this one. It was written very cleverly and felt natural to read. A fast-paced read with a mystery that is down to the wire. I did want to take Theo and shake him by the collar, but I think that was the point.

Highly recommended, thanks for the opportunity to read and review

I loved this, the concept really appealed to me and it was executed really well.

It is a story about impossible choices, the characters are dynamic and it really does keep you on the edge of your seat.

It is a spiral of both doom and redemption and you'll question the choices made whilst being completely caught up in the story unfolding.

The key to it being a joy to read is the writing, which is excellent. So often in this type of thriller you find a lack of substance but that's not the case with Spiral luckily.

Oh also its a whole pile of fun. Genuinely entertaining. Big thumbs up from this reader

A totally unique story. Thrilling and twisty with a groundhog day about it.
So glad i found this author i shall definitely be looking for more.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Full of twists and turns. A ground hog day thriller but even though it’s the same scenario over and over there’s new info each time. A fantastic puzzle of a book.

This is a nail biting thriller meets groundhog day. Theo's mother is on a plane he is a pilot of. Something is wrong with the plane. She relives this bit over and over, but with less time on each occasion. I could not stop reading this book.

This was such an exhilarating read, I love these groundhog day-esque scenario's where the character is trying to find the link between it all.

Spiral by Cameron ward.
Hundreds of people are on board - including your estranged son, Theo. Ten hours into the flight, something goes terribly wrong. Then Your beloved son is safe. Until, terrifyingly, the same chain of events repeats itself. Again, and again, and again. You're the only one who knows what's about to happen. And the lives of everyone on board depend on you.
I really did enjoy this book. I loved the cover. I got into it straight away. I did love the sound of the blurb. I liked Charlie. I did feel for her too. Wow I didn't expect that. This was full of action and I couldn't put it down. Read in two sittings. Twisty. I really didn't see that coming. I was surprised. I did sort of like the ending but it feels as though there will be more to come. 4*.

The premise to Spiral is deceptively simple - a woman, adrift from her only son and learning that he's the first officer of the plane she's on, is killed when the plane experiences a disaster, wiping out everyone on board. The clock then rewinds Groundhog-Day-style to an hour earlier so that the woman, Charlie, can try and work out what happened, how to prevent it, and how to save her relationship with her son.

It's a shame that an engrossing premise isn't better fleshed out - the book is primarily dual-timeline, splitting between Charlie's son Theo, an exile from London to LA who becomes involved in crime, and the far more interesting plane narrative, and suffers as a result. There's a lot of fun pacing to be found in the creeping timeline parts of the book, and even though nothing about why Charlie is experiencing this is ever really explained (even though it dips into timey-wimey nonsense at one stage), Spiral is at least a fun ride. Occasionally let down by some staid character work and cliche emotional beats, it's worth picking up as a fun, digestible thriller, but much like its time-warp-affected characters, don't expect to remember anything about it once you're finished.

This book sounded interesting and original. However I found it to be boring after a while ,and lost interest .Sorry ,not a good read for me.Hope other readers enjoy it more.

I loved this story and having read this author before I anticipated a wild ride and expected the unexpected. What a story, go in blind and you'll love it. Highly recommended xx

This book was simultaneously exactly what I suspected it would be and also totally unpredictable. Let me explain....

It centers around a mother who is on a flight to America to help her son out - although he is actually the pilot of the plane and unaware she's a passenger. She witnesses the plane crash down loop after loop and has to concoct a plan to save the day.

There are several points I'd like to make about this book. Firstly, Theo's storyline was completely unexpected and truly added the essential drama to a plot which had limited outcomes.

By the time I was around half way through, I figured out why this airborne-Groundhog-Day was afoot and how it could be stopped. Although, the novel was so well written and beautifully paced that I was still on the edge of my seat to see how it ended and how close my predictions were to being correct. There were certain aspects as time ran out that I really didn't see coming and the ending was absolutely spectacular. Although it made sense, I hadn't guessed it, which was nice as there were many plot points along the way that I had predicted.

Both airplane crises and deja vu plots have been done to death in various ways over the years so I was really intrigued to know how Ward would execute this. Much to my amazement, this book was a solid 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5)! It's an easy read which hooks you and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the duration. There are elements of gangland culture, the complex and fraught relationship between a mother and son, tainted romance - even philosophical discussions of time and space! Yes, Spiral verges on sci-fi, but it still feels wholly believable due to Ward's gorgeous storytelling. This book is so much more than the premise: it's emotional, tense and brilliant.

Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an easy-to-read, engaging thriller. I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read the ARC from NetGalley, and I'm already adding Ward's other books onto my tbr!

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily

This is an intriguing story in my first book by Cameron Ward. Set mainly from the POV of Charlie, in the present, and Theo in the past, this adds definition and depth to the storyline. Whilst the basis of the story about reliving the same day over and over again has been done before the author has chosen a different take on this and to live the same hour over and over again. The science within the story was compelling and highly fascinating giving a work of fiction a touch of realism. Great pace and tension in the latter half as Charlie pieces everything together and goes up against the clock. A solid 4⭐️ read

This sounded very much like the recent TV series Manifest so I was looking forward to reading it. Overall it’s a good thriller, red herrings, twists and a taut storyline. I read it quickly and enjoyed it.

Amazing book loved every minute of it devoured it in few days!!!! Will read more.by this author ....such a ace read