The Street - Susi Holliday

Their neighbours welcomed them with open arms. Now they’ve vanished without a trace.

Anna and Peter desperately need to escape London for a fresh start. And they’ve found just the place: a perfect house on a perfect street in a perfect new development on the Scottish coast. But before they’ve even unpacked, they discover that the community they’ve moved into might be keeping secrets of its own…

Eager to fit in, Anna and Peter spend their first evening with their new neighbours, a couple who turn up on their doorstep to welcome them with open arms. But when Anna pops over the next morning to thank them for their hospitality, there’s no answer. The house is bare and unoccupied, and the neighbours have vanished without a trace. What’s more, everybody else on the street is convinced that no one ever lived there at all.

As she battles a growing obsession with the mystery, Anna finds herself becoming increasingly paranoid. She thought she’d escaped her own troubled past, but as the truth catches up with her, life starts to unravel. Maybe she’s not the only resident of The Street with something to hide…

 

What did I think?

I was hooked from the start when I picked up The Street and I couldn't put it down; it's SO intriguing and gets darker and darker as you start to work out what's going on.

There's something not quite right about Anna and Peter's relationship but my interest in that had to be put on the back burner as the freaky street they had moved to took centre stage.  The residents are all strange and a little creepy and the only normal ones seem to be the next door neighbours who disappear without trace overnight.  

I didn't really like Anna or Peter but I did feel sorry for Anna as she starts to feel like she's losing her mind.  Good on her for sticking to her guns though and trying to uncover the secrets of the street, although she doesn't realise how much danger it is putting her in.  I can't say any more for fear of revealing any of the plot and spoiling it for others.

Brilliantly written and filled with tension and suspense, The Street is a massively intriguing mystery that kept me riveted from start to finish.

I chose to read a digital ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Substitute - Susi Holliday

 

Three people live. Three people die. You make the choice.

Like any mother, Chrissie wants to protect her family. She would do anything to keep them safe. So when a mysterious stranger turns up at her door, offering to prevent the deaths of the people she loves, it sounds too good to be true. The only problem: she must choose someone to die in their place. A substitute.

When her daughter Holly has a terrible accident, Chrissie has no option but to enter the programme. In that horrifying moment, she would do anything to save her. But even after Holly makes a miraculous recovery, Chrissie is convinced it’s just a coincidence. After all, who can really control the laws of life and death?

But as the dangers to her family escalate and her chosen substitutes begin to disappear, Chrissie finds herself in an underworld of hidden laboratories and secretive doctors. And the consequences of playing by their rules are far deadlier than she ever imagined…

What did I think?

Oh I really enjoyed this book.  I usually only read ebooks at particular times of the day so it's the sign of a good book when I sneak in extra reading when I can, which is what happened with Substitute.  I just couldn't put it down!

It's all very mysterious when a stranger knocks on Chrissie's door and tells her that she never needs to experience grief again.  Chrissie only has to choose 3 people to die in place of her chosen 3 loved ones if something happens to them.  Thinking that there's no way this strange man can do what he's promising, Chrissie sees no harm in giving him 3 names to live and 3 to die.  Until there's an accident...

Oh my goodness, what a scorching plot!  I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the page, devouring every single word as quickly as I could as I raced towards the heart-pounding conclusion.  I've only read a couple of her books but Susi Holliday has really outdone herself with the brilliant Substitute.

Incredibly imaginative but also scarily possible, Substitute is an outstanding techno-thriller that had me on the edge of my seat.  I definitely recommend it; it's disturbing, twisty and completely addictive.  An easy 5 stars from me!

Many thanks to Susi Holliday for sending me a digital ARC to read and review.  This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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The Last Resort - Susi Holliday

 

Seven strangers. Seven secrets. One perfect crime.

When Amelia is invited to an all-expenses-paid retreat on a private island, the mysterious offer is too good to refuse. Along with six other strangers, she’s told they’re here to test a brand-new product for Timeo Technologies. But the guests’ excitement soon turns to terror when the real reason for their summons becomes clear.

Each guest has a guilty secret. And when they’re all forced to wear a memory-tracking device that reveals their dark and shameful deeds to their fellow guests, there’s no hiding from the past. This is no luxury retreat—it’s a trap they can’t get out of.

As the clock counts down to the lavish end-of-day party they’ve been promised, injuries and in-fighting split the group. But with no escape from the island—or the other guests’ most shocking secrets—Amelia begins to suspect that her only hope for survival is to be the last one standing. Can she confront her own dark past to uncover the truth—before it’s too late to get out?

What did I think?

Having read Susi Holliday's brilliant book Violet, I couldn't wait to get my hands on her new book: The Last Resort.  I was very intrigued by the synopsis that sounds like a cross between Lost and a reality show but unlike Lost, the characters aren't all dead...yet.

Seven strangers are invited to an island to test a new product, they have no idea what it is they are testing but all except one fall into the 'fame hungry' or 'owt for nowt' categories.  Amelia is the exception as she is an aid worker who doesn't own a company or have a million followers, so she is immediately singled out as 'different'.

The guests have a memory tracking device fitted to their heads, except Amelia whose device didn't work so she gets to wear a wrist tracker instead which causes further grumbling within the group.  Their only task is to make their way to the main house on the island for the end of day party but you know it's not going to be a simple journey.  Secrets are about to be revealed that will not just make this trip unforgettable but deadly.

Susi Holliday has created such an irritating cast of characters that you love to hate.  I really didn't like them at all, but I guess that's the point as they are clearly bad inside.  I loved the way that each secret was revealed and it felt very much like a reality show as the 'host' attempted to turn the guests against each other before they reach their destination.  The story and intrigue builds up very nicely towards the conclusion of the novel, however, it seemed to fall a little short and ended up being rather anticlimactic.

On the whole, The Last Resort is a very addictive read with an intriguing plot, a stunning setting and a cast of purposefully obnoxious characters.  Although it sounds like science fiction at first, it turns out to be a pretty scary storyline when you read Susi Holliday's inspiration for her novel.  

Thank you to TBC Reviewers Group for providing an ebook for me to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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UK.Bookshop.org

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