#TuesdayBookBlog ‘The Escape’ by C. L. Taylor #BookReview #Thriller

I don’t read paperbacks very often any more, because I read mostly on my kindle or audiobooks. I love my kindle app because I can read anywhere, anytime, with no hassle, and I love my audiobooks because I can cook, iron, or go for a walk while I read/listen.

Today, I’m reviewing one of the few paperbacks I’ve recently read, The Escape, by C. L. Taylor.

There it is above, sitting in front of the Christmas flower my son bought me a few days ago!

Blurb

When a stranger asks Jo Blackmore for a lift she says yes, then swiftly wishes she hadn’t.

The stranger knows Jo’s name, she knows her husband Max and she’s got a glove belonging to Jo’s two year old daughter Elise.

What begins with a subtle threat swiftly turns into a nightmare as the police, social services and even Jo’s own husband turn against her.

No one believes that Elise is in danger. But Jo knows there’s only one way to keep her child safe – RUN.

CL Taylor lives in Bristol. She studied for a degree in Psychology at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle and has worked as a sales administrator, web developer, instructional designer and as the manager of a distance learning team at a London university. She now writes full time.

CL Taylor’s first psychological thriller BEFORE I WAKE (THE ACCIDENT in the UK) was one of the top ten bestselling debut novels of 2014 according to The Bookseller. Her second and third novels, THE LIE and THE MISSING, were Sunday Times Bestsellers and #1 Amazon Kindle chart bestsellers. THE ESCAPE was published in the UK in March 2017 and was also a Sunday Times Bestseller and won the Dead Good Books Hidden Depths award for Most Unreliable Narrator.

Since writing The Escape she has written The Missing, Fear and her latest novel Sleep, which have all been highly acclaimed.

My Review

It all starts when a stranger asks Jo for a lift. Jo is shocked to discover the woman knows all about her, her husband, Max, and her two year old daughter, whom she subtly threatens.

From then on her life becomes a nightmare, but nobody believes her, the police, social workers and her husband all think she’s either lying, exaggerating or unstable.

The story is told mainly from Jo’s first person point of view, so the reader feels Jo’s constant fear for her daughter’s safety, and sympathises with her as she has to deal with some complex mental issues, as well as protecting her daughter from the novel’s ‘villain’ who narrates some chapters. Other chapters are narrated by Max in the third person.

There are plenty of twists and turns, secrets, lies and betrayal, with lots of fast paced action leading to the final surprising twist.

A must read for anyone who, like me, enjoys fast paced and carefully plotted domestic thrillers, set in the UK.

*****

More reviews by Luccia here!