This was a fairly challenging thriller as it was fairly bleak and in honesty it was only the last 5-10% that really grabbed me due to the stunning twist. Set on a remote Scottish island and featuring author Grady this is an increasingly claustrophobic read as he tries to uncover the mystery of his missing wife whist unfolding the secrets of an island he just cannot find a way of leaving. The setting is incredibly creepy with some very strange and unlikeable characters. Grady himself is quite a negative character but I did feel for his predicament and increasing desire to escape. The story is actually pulled together very well with reasons for everything gradually being revealed, the twist really is excellent but the ending is still uncomfortable. This is a bit more of a kind of survival type thriller than I’d anticipated and I think that impacted my enjoyment however the plotting was great and the concept spine chilling. 7/10

2.5
It’s pretty much impossible to talk about this book without spoilers so I've taken them out of my NetGalley review. As an evidence-based reviewer, it’s important to me that I give examples around my critical feedback so if you'd like to see the spoiler-y parts, please click my supporting links where it's all painstakingly tagged.

What worked for me:
👍 The cover is stunning. While I’ve read one of Alice Feeney’s books before (His and Hers), what really drew me in was the cover design: the pastel rainbow font, random backward letters, the picture of a remote island in slightly choppy water, and a small tear down the middle with ‘read me’ written inside. This cover is magnifque!
👍 Our story is set on a remote, ficticious Scottish island, Amberley, and the sense of place is artful. I could feel the claustrophobia of the closed community, the isolation on an island without communication infrastructure, and the sense that the nature and weather on Amberley could kill ya if it wanted to. The little illustrated map helped bring the island to life too! (Although, the idea of huge Sequoia trees growing in the Outer Hebrides sounds implausible. I mean, Shetland doesn’t even have trees because of the Atlantic winds. There are Redwoods in Scotland, though!)
👍 A Spooky undercurrent, some horror-esque imagery, and the suggestion of the supernatural heightened the atmosphere and slightly magical sense of place further.
👍 I enjoyed Abby’s women-focused news articles and how passionate she was about bringing exposing systemic misogyny and seeking justice for women through her investigative journalism.
👍 Columbo, the happy black lab!
👍 (something I'm genuinely gutted I can't talk about here because of spoilers!)

What I wasn’t so keen on:
👎 Our characters were objectively awful. When I’m reading, I enjoy having someone to root for and cheer along but both Grady and Abby were unlikeable in their own way. I pretty much hated Grady from go: he’s whiny, entitled, jealous, and emotionally manipulative. Abby was easier to root for, but she started making really questionable choices and she lost me completely by the end too.
👎 Kitty was an interesting character but <spoilers removed>
👎 The ending didn't work for me at all.
👎 Pacing issues: The book is slow to start and we spend a lot of time in Grady’s head with his whiny and repetitive thoughts. The book picks up, but I did grow weary of the whole ‘woe is me’ ToRtUrEd WrItEr stuff really quickly.

🐶 Is the dog okay? Yes!

Folks new to thrillers, readers who enjoy domestic drama, or people who enjoy Feeney's previous works may enjoy this more than I did.

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley and I'm sad this one missed the mark for me. Thank you, Pan Macmillan.