This book is illuminating when it comes to the state of mind, how it gets to the point of pure blankness and what it can take to bring the mind back. It’s an unusual theme, full of very different characters. I like that none of their reasons for seeking help are cliched or jaded. The author has really stretched her writing on all fronts, starting with the way the main plot premise is dealt with, all the way down to minute details of the characters’ individual back stories, important or orbital characters, each one is finished off superbly.
The book starts in a safe romantic way, where our heroine finds love. The author gives nothing away, writing to emphasise the heroine who wants to experience this period in an idyllic way.
The deteriorating situation sees Kate, our heroine, only ever believing all is good … until she returns home one day to an empty house, with her mind bent and twisted till she can remember only snippets, all of it pointing to her being a bad wife, an irresponsible mother, an uncaring daughter and friend.
What follows is an intricate hell ride for Kate. She came to the isolated Writers Retreat to try and cure her writers block and unblock her memories. Battling inner demons, battling the cold and the rawness of the island, the foreboding manor house and its history, and confused by the reality of what she sees and the interactions of the players around her, Kate is driven to the brink of insanity … Is she strong enough, tough enough to return to reality? Are the horrors real or imagined?
An exceptional read with many very unexpected shockers.
Reviewed by Alison Logie
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in tropical North Queensland, Brooke graduated with a degree teaching English literature and left to see the world. Since then, she’s lived and worked in Australia, England, Scotland and Hong Kong and is currently based in an ancient fort town shaped like a snowflake in the Netherlands.
She’s fascinated with the psychology of psychological thrillers and thinks there’s nothing more terrifying than human nature.
When she isn’t writing, Brooke combs fields for shards of Delft pottery and reads thrillers until she’s too scared to sleep.
THE FOG is her debut novel.
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