Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Review - Blink

Title:   Blink
Author:  K.L. Slater
Genre:   Psychological Thriller
Publisher:   Grand Central Publishing
Format:  Print ARC
No. of Pages:  736
Date of Publication:  January 29, 2019
My Rating:  4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:
What if the person you love most in the world was in terrible danger ... because of you? 

Three years ago, Toni's five-year-old daughter Evie disappeared after leaving school. The police have never been able to find her. There were no witnesses, no CCTV, no trace.

But Toni believes her daughter is alive. And as she begins to silently piece together her memories, the full story of the past begins to reveal itself, and a devastating truth.
Toni's mind is trapped in a world of silence, her only chance to save herself is to manage the impossible. She must find a way to make herself heard. She must find her daughter.

Includes the bonus novel SAFE WITH ME: 

Thirteen years ago someone did something very bad to Anna. Now it's her turn to get even...

Anna lives a solitary existence, taking solace in order and routine. Her only friend is the lonely old lady next door. She doesn't like to let people to get too close - she knows how much damage they can do.

Then one ordinary day Anna witnesses a devastating road accident and recognises the driver as Carla, the woman who ruined her life all those years ago. Now it's Anna's chance to set things straight but her revenge needs to be executed carefully...

First she needs to get to know Liam, the man injured in the accident. She needs to follow the police investigation. She needs to watch Carla from the shadows...

But as Anna's obsession with Carla escalates, her own secrets start to unravel. Is Carla really dangerous or does Anna need to worry about someone far closer to home?

*Review for Safe With Me:  https://www.robinlovesreading.com/2019/01/review-safe-with-me.html


MY THOUGHTS:

Toni Cotter was already living a grief-stricken existence when the unimaginable happens - her five-year-old daughter disappears. Toni is a widow of two years and is struggling emotionally and financially. She makes the difficult decision to move nearer to her mother with hopes of making her and her daughter Evie’s lives better. From the outset, things go from bad to worse. She cannot get a leg up financially, must cope with an overbearing mother who undermines her in front of Evie and is taking sedatives that are not even prescribed to her. Toni is not coping well, and she is unraveling. 

Getting Evie into a new school and a new part-time job are certainly things she can do to get her life back on-track. However, nothing goes right, and she keeps on self-medicating. Meanwhile, Evie was a self-assured, happy five-year-old. Now she is struggling at school and seems to be pulling away from Toni. It doesn’t help that Toni’s mum Anita constantly makes Toni feel inept. 

How horrifying when Evie suddenly disappears. Other things precipitated this, however. Toni feels her dependence on sedatives is responsible for everything that is going wrong. However, it is like she is on a speeding train headed downhill - and on the wrong track - but she is powerless to stop things. 

The story is delivered in the then and now, which is three years later. For all of those years, the police hadn’t a clue. But a change in events give the haggled Toni cause for hope. She never once feared Evie was dead. There are sections in the narrative where a stroke patient has a dialogue, although nearly catatonic - and unidentifiable - to the doctors and nurses. Her role in this terrifying tale is pivotal. 

This story took me a while to get into, but I still kept at it, finishing it in a handful of hours. But, when it grabbed me, it was as if I was in a choke hold. Just about every one of my assumptions were incorrect; I just couldn’t read fast enough! I truly had to know what was what and also whether or not Toni’s belief in Evie still being alive had any merit. 

I am so pleased to have gotten my hands on this exceptional read by K.L. Slater. It is definitely worth any investment in time. The twists and turns were riveting, and the conclusion was chilling. 

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

My writing journey . . .

After years of trying to get published and never getting further than the slush pile, I went back to university at the age of 40 where I gained  a first-class honours degree in English & Creative Writing and an MA in Creative Writing with distinction.

Although I also had a day job during the five years I studied at university, the courses gave me the time and space to try different writing and increased my confidence and belief in my writing. Before I graduated from my MA, I had secured representation at the Darley Anderson Literacy, TV and Film Agency who got me my first book deal. My literary agent is Camilla Bolton.

My first adult psychological thriller for Bookouture, ‘Safe with Me’,  actually started life as my dissertation on my English & Creative Writing degree in 2010.

The creepy voice of Anna came to me strong and insistent . . . she wanted to be written, she wouldn’t go away. I’m so glad I listened!

Please take a look at my ‘Books’ page for the full list of my titles.

I first became published writing Young Adult fiction for Macmillan Children’s Books under the name Kim Slater. My award-winning YA debut, SMART, started life as a short story for my MA in Creative Writing in 2012.

I am now a full-time writer. I have a daughter and two stepsons and live with my husband in Nottingham and Yorkshire.



No comments:

Post a Comment