Release Date: April 30th 2020
Publisher: Orion Books
Pages: 382
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
Synopsis
No matter how far you run, some secrets will always catch up with you…
The remote Antarctic island of South Georgia is about to send off its last boat of the summer – which signifies safety to resident glaciologist Felicity Lloyd.
Felicity lives in fear – fear that her ex-husband Freddie will find her, even out here. She took a job on this isolated island to hide from him, but now that he’s out of prison, having served a term for murder, she knows he won’t give up until he finds her.
But a doctor delving into the background of Felicity and Freddie’s relationship, back in Cambridge, learns that Felicity has been on the edge for a long time. Heading to South Georgia himself to try and get to her first is the only way he can think of to help her.
Review
This is my first time reading a book by Sharon Bolton and I can absolutely say it won’t be the last. This fast paced psychological thriller is a complex tale full of twists and turns with an ending I absolutely didn’t see coming. The Split follows scientist Felicity Lloyd who has taken a job in the remote Antarctic to escape the horrors of her past. She fears that even South Georgia isn’t remote enough to escape her ex-husband Freddie who has recently been released from prison. But Felicity has gaps in her memory and as a doctor begins to unravel the truth of her past, he heads out to Georgia in an attempt to help her.
The Split is a really quick paced book and I couldn’t put this one down. It was so compelling and the short chapters had me turning pages late into the night. It follows two timelines – when Felicity lived in Oxford and the events leading up to her leaving for the Antarctic as well as current day as she feels someone had followed her to South Georgia. I was fascinated by both timelines and couldn’t wait to see how everything connected up. The story if full of twists and turns and pretty much every guess I made was wrong – I love getting to the end of a story and haven’t a completely surprised ending and that’s exactly what happened with The Split.
Felicity is a fascinating protagonist – she’s an unreliable narrator and I was never really sure if what she was seeing was true. Overall I liked Felicity and felt quite sympathetic towards her given she had all these moments of memory loss and no idea what was wrong. I similarly liked Dr Grant who was also an interesting character that I really liked. One of the things I liked most was the setting of South Georgia in the story. The harsh remote landscape really comes to life and combined with the sense of doom that Felicity feels knowing someone might step off one of the ships to look for her really came through in the story. It was an addictive read and one I didn’t want to end.
If you’re looking for a compelling thriller to keep you hooked over the winter this is absolutely a must read. I enjoyed every minute of this and I cannot wait to read more from Sharon J Bolton.
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The Wolf and the Water is the first in an all new series from Josie Jaffrey, set in the ancient city of Kepos. The story follows Kala, a young girl who loses her father in mysterious circumstances. Her mother is remarried to a cruel man looking to gain more power in his position as head of the household. As Kala attempts to investigate the death of her father she uncovers a secret long hidden in the city of Kepos and must do everything she can to keep herself and her loved ones alive.
Skyward Inn is the strange and beautiful story of Jem and Isley – the co-owners of an inn in the moorlands of the Western Protectorate. Their life is a quiet one, away from the modern advancements in technology and politics. We are similarly introduced to Fosse – Jem’s son who lives with his Uncle. All three characters are trying to find acceptance in this world and survive a world of aliens and travel between planets.
Star Daughter is a beautifully written story inspired by Hindu mythology that follows Sheetal a young girl who is part star. When she is summoned to the celestial court Sheetal is forced to participate in a competition that decides who will be the next ruler of the heavens. With no choice but to agree, Sheetal participates in the competition, but as she learns more about the history of the celestial court she soon sees that all is not what it seems.
Court of Lions is the second book in the Mirage duology. The story picks up straight after the events of book one and we’re still following Amani as she is forced into life as Maram’s body double. Amani has a difficult decision to make as tensions continue to rise and the spark of rebellion is ignited. Is she willing to sacrifice everything to save her people and can she help Maram to become the Queen her country so desperately needs?
The Canary Keeper is the dark and compelling story of set in Victorian London. When a body is discovered on the banks of the the Thames an eye witness claims that the killer’s accomplice is a young Irish woman living London. Her father was hanged for murder and soon she becomes caught up in the murder, with the police accusing her of being the killer’s accomplice. In order to clear her name Birdie has to flee for her life and to trace the footsteps of the man she is accused of killing. Her search takes her to the remote town of Orkney where she begins to find that there is more to this murder than she could possibly have realised.
Kingdom of the Wicked is the first in an all new series from Kerri Maniscalco. This is my first time reading a book by this author – I’ve long been intrigued by her Stalking Jack the Ripper series but I’ve never gotten around to reading it. When I heard she was releasing a new book featuring princes from Hell and a quest for vengeance, I was immediately sold. This is a dark and compelling tale – it’s beautifully told and definitely one of my favourite reads of 2020.
The Game Weavers is the absolutely fascinating debut novel from Rebecca Zahabi. The story follows Seo, a young man who is a champion at Britain’s national sport Twine – a game in which the player must create creatures that battle each other in huge arenas. Despite the futuristic game society has become even more intolerant and when the media outs Seo as gay, he has to fight to get his life back on track as well as continue to compete in the legendary game.
The Bibliophile Chronicles 