The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd

I was sent a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

OMG! I haven't read a psychological thriller like this for some time. This is on a totally different level to The Family Upstairs, and so much better.

What can I say without giving the story away. It's about 13 year old Elissa who is a bright young girl, living with her mother. They go away for a weekend chess tournament that Elissa is playing in and whilst Elissa goes to return something to the car she is abducted. When she comes around she is in the cellar of "The Gingerbread House', chained up and in the dark. Her captor visits her but so does Elijah, a 12 year old boy who doesn't want Elissa to leave. He sees her as his new friend. Elissa realises that she isn't the first girl who has been brought here and the story follows the time after Elissa's disappearance.

The story is brilliantly written, even when you think you've sussed it out, there's a twist and a turn in the story. I thought I knew who the abductor was, I changed my mind three times, I thought I knew what the end result for Elissa was, I was wrong there too. Until the very end of this book, there are just so many things where you think you know what's happening and then you realise you've got it completely wrong.

The characters are brilliantly written, to the point that you feel sorry for Elijah, and you soon discover that his story is just as big a part of the story as Elissa's. Elissa, her mum, even the detective in charge of the case are all really good likeable characters and you feel for all of them. The descriptions of The Memory Wood and the gingerbread house as Elijah calls it, are amazing, you could be there seeing it with your own eyes, it was mesmerising and yet chilling at the same time.

There is some gore, some parts that make you feel little uneasy, nothing hideous but very descriptive but it all adds to the story and the effect.

I couldn't put it down.

A really, really good read. My first Sam Lloyd book, his first book but I'll definitely be reading anything else he writes.

5 stars from me on Goodreads.

Brilliant!

Comments

Sherbet Lane stationery box - May

I was actually away on holiday last week when my happy post arrived. It's always a nice feeling when you see it on your doormat but even nicer when you know it's at home waiting for you. We arrived home early on Monday morning and no I didn't open it straight away. Later onMonday afternoon i got to sit down and open it on my own. This months theme is Spring Clean, very apt for my house at the moment. We have been having lots of work done over the past seven weeks which includes a new kitchen which arrives this Monday! I'm a little excited about that! So in amongst all the chaos of my house - I get this, and as always its perfect. Inside wrapped in tissue paper as always, is a journal, a Paperchase pen, three organisation sheets to help you organise your life, a decluttering one, a cleaning one and one for things you like doing. There is also an art card with the quote, "This could be the beginning of anything you want." That's going i...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

So I have seen this book many times whilst out shopping but have never bought it. On Thursday I went shopping and picked it up, read the blurb and put it back on the shelf. When I got home I downloaded it onto my kindle ready for a weekend at the beach house. Unfortunately I was still reading The Winter Secret and with a poorly child I didn't get that finished until yesterday. With the 10 year old flaked out on the sofa all day, I decided to start reading it. I knew the reviews were good, but quickly realised how good this book is. It is based on a true story, one that Heather Morris has researched and written with the help of Lale (the main character) and his son. It is a beautiful moving love story surrounded by the horrific day to day happenings of Auschwitz. Morris brings very clear and vivid imagery to her writing, and part of me, even though I know what happened in concentration camps, when it's written from the mouth of one survivor, it still left me num...

Can you see me? by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott

Some books grip you, others don't. Some take me for ever to read and some I can plough through in a couple of evenings. This book I put in my amazon wish list and I published it on the Acts of Kindness UK group on Facebook, if you haven't seen it go and have a look, there's lots of loveliness out there in a world of such uncertainty at the moment. I received it in the post from someone I know (but not very well) and it was lovely to receive it. The story is written from the perspective of Tally (Natalia) an 11 year old with Autism who is about to start secondary school. It includes diary entries written by Libby Scott who is also autistic and sheds a real light into what it is like living with the condition. The story goes through the every day life of an autistic child, the things they face, the emotions and anxiety that goes through their heads constantly. This is put across as Tally' experiences, that no one likes her, that she's different from everyone e...

The Dartmoor Bookworm

Search This Blog