C. L. Taylor is back with a new clever and absorbing psychological thriller. For me, she is one of the best authors in this genre and she did not disappoint at all with The Escape.

When we start reading this story, we have no clue of what is going on, but neither does Jo Blackmore, the main character. We all know though that something or someone dangerous is looming in the darkness, Jo and her daughter are not safe. This first part of the story is really tense and I couldn't stop reading to try to find out more about what was going on, collecting clues, trying to decide who was trying to help and who was trying to harm them.

Little but little, we start figuring out what is going on and soon realise that Jo's worse fears are no longer fears but her new reality. A new reality where she is no longer sure about anything or anyone. Not only her present is hunting her but also her past. This fact adds a new storyline to the novel that intertwines with the main one perfectly, surprising us readers with quite a few unexpected twists and revelations.

As I said, I raced through the first part of this story. I couldn't wait to know more. But as I started realising what was happening I started reading way more slowly, fearing what would happen next. But also taking in all the details the author adds to the story, like the eerie atmosphere of the Irish village where the story takes us or all the complexities and different versions of each characters.

If you want to be surprised, if you want to feel fear, if you want to read a cleverly written story... then don't look any farther. The Escape is the book you are looking for. Another hit by C.L. Taylor.

Jo Blackmore, against her gut feeling, agrees to give a stranger a ride. The stranger knows Jo, she knows her husband (Max) and she knows Jo’s daughter, two-year-old, Elise. “Look after your daughter’s things. And your daughter…” What starts as a subtle threat, soon turns into Jo’s worst nightmare as everyone begins to turn on her and, soon, she has no other option but to try and escape.

The Escape by C.L Taylor was a novel I had been hearing about for the past couple of months; I was extremely excited to start my reading.

This one left me with some seriously mixed feelings.

Let me break it down.



What I Liked:

To start, there is no denying that C.L Taylor can write a seriously complex plot; her talent radiates off the pages. I was seriously impressed.

The first half of this book had me on the edge of my seat; I could not put this one down. It was fast paced, tense and had me looking over my shoulder. Which is basically the exact way I like to feel during a psychological thriller. What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment.

The also felt like the complex, character development of Jo was brilliant. For any fans of the GIRL novels, an unreliable narrator is key and Jo felt completely unreliable throughout. At the same time, Taylor was able to build such a unique character that, even though I felt like she was unreliable, I also felt bad for her and felt like maybe she was being misunderstood. I was totally stressed out!

Now this is where my issues came into play…



What I Struggled With:

The second half of the novel felt like a completely different book. I will not speak to any of it directly, as to not give away any spoilers, but it didn’t even feel as if I was in the same novel. The pace slowed, the plot began to drag and some plot points began moving to the forefront that I felt didn’t belong in a psychological thriller. It ended up feeling more like contemporary fiction, which I don’t mind, but it just felt out of place.

Overall, I will for sure be looking for other novels by this author, but this one was just okay for me.

I ended up rating this one a 3.5/5 stars.

I received this book via Netgalley never having read anything by CL Taylor before. Wow! What a read! This is a fast paced psychological thriller that has you on the edge of your seat and causes you to have so much empathy with the heroine Jo that her frustrations become your frustrations until you cannot put the book down because you need to know what is going on and who, if anyone is ever going to believe her.

It was obvious from the start that things were not what they seemed and that someone was up to no good but to what extent I was unsure until the very end. I thoroughly recommend this book and I will be on the look out for other books by this author.

I have enjoyed all of C. L Taylors books. She is without doubt a must read author for me. I love the way she can transport me into a story, the time just flys by and before you know it your on the last page with that feeling of disapointment that you have finshed it and The Escape is no exception.

To a lesser degree I suffer from the same as the main character Jo. Wherever I go I have to have an escape route planned in my head and I really, really dont like going to new places, a panic with envelope me and the need to run is unbearable. Using positive thinking and not wanting my kids to see me like and think its normal I have been able to overcome the worst but Its always there and lets me know from time to time.

The story is one of failed relationships, secrets, confusion and down right deception. I felt Jos need to run the need to protect her relationship with her daughter. When she decides to run she has no idea of how secrets from her families past will catch up with her and introduce more trouble into her life.

A fantastically crafted book that I highly recommend.

Dark and disturbing. Just what a psycho-thriller should be. I was drawn in to the net and found myself constantly torn between whom I thought the innocent party and which the villain. An excellent read.

The Escape is one of those books with such an exciting pace, you have to remind yourself to breathe. The drama is so intense, right from the outset, there are often no gaps for air. You have been warned!

How would you feel if a stranger got into your car, handed you a familiar single glove and warned “Look after your daughter’s things…and your daughter”?

The subtle threat sparks a chain of fear, paranoia & violence and soon it seems no-one believes Jo; the police, her GP, social services, even her own husband Max appears to turn against her as she battles to keep their daughter Elise safe and free from harm.

She runs. She hides. She discovers secrets and lies.

The journey takes us across the water into Ireland (via Cardiff – favourite bits, we loves a mention – obvs!) where we meet an interesting cast of locals. The question still remains, who can she trust? Without giving anything away, the concluding cliff scenes are possibly some of the most exciting, pacey and exhilarating writing I’ve been totally immersed in for quite a while.

I foolishly thought I hadn’t read anything by C L Taylor previously – her voice is so fresh and exciting – but Goodreads tells me otherwise and that I rated The Accident a perfect 5 a couple of years ago. Bravo for book tech! Both are amazing stories, but this one feels very different, which is possibly what threw me. However I haven’t read all of the back catalogue, which is what I now plan to do.

Don’t you just love it when you find a new favourite author to fangirl over?

A remember-to-breathe five cwtches. Get your copy here.

C. L. Taylor never fails to disappoint and is slowly becoming my favourite author.

This wasn't my favourite book by her, but I still eagerly turned the pages.

I was guessing at a much deeper twist. Like maybe mum was crazy etc, and because I was so invested in this, the actual twist came as a surprise!

The Escape by C L Taylor is an absorbing mystery about Jo, a wife and mother of one who is asked for a lift by a stranger. However, the stranger knows her name and many things about her including the name of Jo's husband. A mild threat that disconcerts Jo spirals into terror and she flees the country with her young daughter, not knowing who to trust. I like C L Taylor's psychological thrillers and this is a fine addition.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it literally kept you gripped from the off. Given the title of it and the first few chapters, I kept waiting for someone to be kidnapped and thus escape, hence the title of the book. How wrong I was on one front but you kept wanting to read more to find out what was going to happen. I love what happened to get us to the end and highly recommend reading the book.

This book starts well but it soon becomes apparent that the storyline is not particularly new. A crooked husband trying to make his wife out to be unbalanced in order to get their child is a bit old hat. The fact that he is the baddie is evident from the start and the only excitement is waiting to see how he will be caught. There is also a lengthy and unnecessary Irish side story. Not my favourite read.

Having read The Missing, also by C.L. Taylor, I had high hopes for The Escape – and it didn’t disappoint!

The storyline moves quickly and with plenty of suspense and is great at keeping you guessing on who is trustworthy and who isn’t. I really like books that make you doubt the main character’s reliability, and there were a good few points when this happened. In fact most of the characters in this book seem quite unreliable and this adds to the strange, uneasy feeling that I sometimes got when reading it! Sometimes you wonder if what she’s saying CAN be explained away easily as just a coincidence, or more innocent than it seems – then the next minute you completely believe her again!

I didn’t really like the main character, Jo, but I was still rooting for her. It’s quite a talented writer that can create a character that isn’t perfect or even particularly likable, but still make you care about what happens to her – and this was the case in The Escape. Jo is quite irritating at times and sometimes I wanted to scream at her to do things differently, but still I read on completely absorbed in the story. I wanted to see everything turn out OK for her and Elise, but wasn’t at all sure it would!

The storyline jumps between various narrators – mainly Jo and her husband Max, but also seems to include snippets of someone else who may be the person to blame for all of this… or maybe not? I really enjoyed this book. The Escape is a fun (…at times a little creepy), fast-paced thriller which kept me hooked until the end.

Fast paced thriller which keeps you guessing until the end. I was not sure who to trust in the twisty plot. An enjoyable read!

C L Taylor never disappoints. This novel was full of suspense and once you started reading, it was a struggle to put it down! Looking forward to the next one!

A real page turner, love this type of cliff hanger novel. Will definitely look out for this author in future

Back of the book :

Look after your daughters things. And your daughter ...

When a stranger asks Jo Blackwood for a lift, she says yes - then wishes quickly that 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.



What I think :

Jo Blackwood is a very nervous person, she has panic attacks and can't really go out like me and you. She can take her daughter, Elise to nursery, and she can go to work at the University, but that it, no dinners out or shopping trips. She has to plan every journey and makes sure she knows where all the escape routes are.

One day she is collecting her daughter from nursery when a middle aged woman gets into her car. Paula seems to know a lot about her daughter and her husband Max, She says that Max has stolen something from her and she wants it back. She then gets out of the car, but before she does she takes one of Elise's gloves out of her pocket and tells Jo that she needs to 'look after' her. Jo takes this as a threat. When she tells her husband about he says that he doesn't know anyone called Paula and he hasn't taken anything from anyone. It Makes Jo feel that he doesn't believe her. Max just thinks that its Jo having one of her 'funnys' again as he's put up with a lot from her lately.

So begins an absolute nightmare for Jo.

Just who is Paula and why is she doing this to her ... ?

Wow ! another intense, gripping thriller from the pen of C.L Taylor. I really love the way that she picks you up and drags you in and doesn't let you down until you've finished the book.

There are so many gasp out loud moments, and so, so many twists and turns. And OMG ! the twist at the end I really didn't see coming.

Some superbly written characters that jump out of the page. In some places, I really did think that maybe Jo could have been a little stronger and grown a back bone and not have run, but I suppose that was the whole purpose to the story.

I couldn't put it down and give this wonderful edge of the seat thriller a well-earned 10/10.

5 gold stars

Firstly, thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me a pre-release copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The story centres around Jo, who is convinced that Paula is out to get her for something her Husband, Max, an investagative journalist, has done. Meanwhile, Max is convinced that Jo's agoraphobia and anxiety making her a bad mother to their two year old daughter, Elise. After being arrested for possession of drug that she's convinced Paula has planted after breaking into their home, Jo takes Elise and goes on the run in search of refuge for them both, firstly to her Mum's house then to her best friend's.

You get the feeling, reading this novel, that Jo may be just slightly unhinged and possibly heading towards paranoid and neurotic. There are plenty of places in the book where you could be forgiven for thinking that was the case. But, is there something more sinister going on? Every time you thank that, actually, yes there could be, there's something else that makes you think "nah...it's all in her head!"

While this wasn't the paciest thriller by this author, there's certainly plenty to keep you interested - fascinated even. As the story progresses it expands beyond what you could possibly imagine. If you like C.L. Taylor's other novels, you're going to love this one.

Excellent read. A must for any Thriller fans.

Thanks for the chance to read this

I am a massive fan of C.L. Taylor’s work and got very excited when I saw The Escape was due for release. As always her work is full of drama, suspense, and twists which gripped me and had me hooked throughout.

It all gets off to a fast start as Jo is confronted and her and her daughter threatened. Her husband Max is a journalist and it seems that this could be connected to an investigation he has been involved in. But will anyone actually believe that Jo is being threatened, or will they think that she is in need of psychiatric help.

And so begins a dramatic tale that sees Jo flee her home, family and all around her in pursuit of answers and safety. But will she find it or will she run from one problem to another?

I loved the way the plot has been crafted. Just when I thought ‘aha, I have it’ I would quickly realise I didn’t. I became so engrossed in the story I could feel it and at times wanted to scream at Jo (for a number of reasons). She frustrated the hell out of me at times as she acted differently to how I would have handled the situation, but at the same time I just wanted someone to believe her, or take her under their wing.

The climax of the story had me on the edge of my seat, and unable to tear myself away. Written so descriptively I could sense the sounds, smells and feel the adrenaline. My heart was in my mouth……

The setting is beautiful, and whilst this is a thriller and a tense one at that, I could visualize the village so easily I actually wanted to go and visit the scene and holiday there, it felt real.

Once again C.L. Taylor has written a winning book that is frantic, thrilling, captivating and set my pulse racing!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my free preview copy in return for an honest review.

After enjoying CL Taylors earlier book The Missing I was really forward to reading her new novel The Escape, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Jo is acrophobic with severe anxiety and other mental health issues. For the most part she copes but she struggles with coping and this forms the backbone of the book. Jo can’t deal with issues the way others might and she is terrified of the unknown.

So for some reason, and against her better judgement, she agrees to give a stranger a lift. The stranger knows her name and has her daughter’s glove. Jo is terrified but she deals with her by throwing her out of the car. Jo can deal with danger when she needs to and this is a strong lesson for her.

In true psychological thriller genre the psycho does not go away and descends into true paranoia for the safety of herself and more importantly her daughter Elise.

The tension is done brilliantly. You really have to know what happens to her and how it finishes. There are a few people Jo encounters along the way you feel like shaking Jo and saying Stand Up For Yourself: the nursery worker for one. But they added to the build-up.

A book of two halves the first half is fast paced and sets the scene whilst the second half slows down whilst finally pushing Jo to her limit.

A wonderful read and definitely recommends its 4 stars but really I would give it 4.5 stars.

Interesting and unusual novel which kept moving to the end. Twist towards the end which I hadn't worked out!
Strong female character despite her problems.