PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY.
I am immediately drawn to books which have two versions of the same story. This Australian suspense thriller has two accounts of a story which are very similar but with variations; one is set in summer, the other in winter; one has more action, the other romance. It is two books in one with the same story told twice with the husband and wife changing roles and personalities. The author suggests the reader only read one version but I was intrigued enough to read both.
Readers can choose to either follow Andy's mother,
Annette as she fights for her son's survival, or follow his father, Brian as
he's dragged deeper into Sydney's underworld. Readers are invited to either
travel back and forth from one parent's perspective to the other, or read
through the entire epic novel for the whole picture.
It is a gripping thriller
about losing family, fighting injury and murder which had me captivated from
the start; it really grabbed my attention as the premise of the novel made me
curious and wanting to know more. Additionally, I enjoyed the switching of
antagonists and protagonists.
The story starts with a
bang as a car collides with another on the highway; a terrible accident and the
car is smashed to pieces, the occupants injured and in shock. The horrific
scene is skilfully described and draws the reader in to the terror being
experienced by parents, Annette and Brian. Readers will easily visualise the scene whilst reading the well-written
narrative and be able to experience the fear and emotions being felt by the
parents. But here’s the twist, there
were three of them in the car before the accident, afterwards, uncannily there are two. Their son, eight year old Andy, is somehow
not in the car with them. Annette cannot
understand why she is being ignored by the paramedics and firefighters as she
pleads with them to find her son and Brian is told that the only other person
in the car with him is his wife. By the
end of the second chapter, I was dying of curiosity to find out what had
happened to Andy.
This is a "don't
miss" book which had me both intrigued and entertained simultaneously with
its twists and unexpected turns; it leaps off the page and grabs one’s
attention from the start. I couldn’t put it down and I lost sleep not wanting
to put it down, it is just that good.
But a word of caution, it
is not for the squeamish as descriptions of the fights and accompanying
injuries are very convincingly detailed; nevertheless the tale is emotionally gripping and well
worth a read as it sucks you into the family life of Annette, Brian and Andy
whose lives change forever after the accident and secrets and lies are revealed
through knock-on events.
This is a very
interesting concept to presenting a story (stories) and it is certainly
different from usual crime thrillers as it takes readers on two journeys, both
rather unusual, yet full of action, twists and turns and nothing is
straightforward or predictive.
The writing style is also
different from the norm which I found refreshing; it is a suspenseful, gritty
tale with an interesting premise.
It is a non-stop roller coaster ride and readers will hardly be able to catch their breath.
Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
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