January 2017, Brilliance Audio, 6 hours 48 minutes, Audiobook, Review copy from Audible
Content strong exotic adult
relationships, strong swearing, domestic violence,
Summary from Audible
An ordinary outing takes Greta, Alex, and four-year-old Smilla across
Sweden's mythical Lake Malice to a tiny, isolated island. While father
and daughter tramp into the trees, Greta stays behind in the boat,
lulled into a reverie by the misty, moody lake...only later to discover
that the two haven't returned. Her frantic search proves futile. They've
disappeared without a trace.
Greta struggles to understand their
eerie vanishing. She desperately needs to call Alex, to be reassured
that Smilla is safe, or contact the police. But now her cell phone is
missing too. Back at her cottage, she finds it hidden away under the
bedsheets. Had she done that? Or had someone else been in the cottage?
But who, and why? As Greta struggles to put the pieces together, she
fears that her past has come back to torment her, or she's finally lost
her grip on reality...
Nayu's thoughts
First I must state
I really loved this book, even if my initial comments may seem to
hint the opposite. It was the most confusing read I've ever listened
to/read. As someone who can struggle with concentrating because I read
when I'm tired (any time of day), following a story with both multiple
viewpoints and flashbacks made me thoroughly confused most of the
time. I didn't know until the end whether Greta was
hallucinating, having a mental breakdown, having cruel tricks played on
her. I won't avoid similar reads in the future because I absolutely
loved the way tidbits of necessary info was spread throughout the
book. It was information that either confirmed my theories or simply
confused me some more.
Greta had a horrific childhood, which she
didn't necessarily remember accurately. Her recent present life had
it's own horrors which had me almost stop listening for good as they
got really unpleasant (that's the exotic relationships part in the
content warning). It's not exactly easy to skim past sections I don't
like on audiobook as I do with a physical/ebook. But because I was
desperate to know if there was a happy ending I kept going until the
end, which managed to confuse me because I may have misunderstood
what a character said to another (it could mean certain death which Greta miraculously avoided up to the end).
The narration was first
class, I was completely immersed into the insanity of the characters
and the plot. I think I will relisten to it eventually, after many
fluffy listens-I was a bit disturbed emotionally by the end and had
to placate the horrors with super cute gaming, as the topics are very
hard hitting and made me sad for those whose live through similar
goings on.
Suggested read
You can find another brilliant thriller in Dead Silent by Mark Roberts (Thriller, 10/10E, short 'n' sweet review)
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