Review: Brutal, disturbing gorefest!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 22, 2013
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*Hillary is fifteen and wakes up naked, tied to a bed and with no memory of what has happened to her. Three people enter her life-a doctor, his wife and a psychiatrist and they tell her that when her memory returns, she can go home. Plagued by nightmares and fear, Hillary just wants to escape and starts trying to come up with a plan.When we are introduced to Hillary, we are as much in the dark about what is happening to her as she is. She has nightmares about being tortured and abused by mystery captors, and wakes up confused, tied to the same bed and trying to remember any small detail about her life. The reader can see things happening ie Hillary's attempt to escape but she has no memory of these events when she wakes up each time after it. Nobody answers her questions or gives her any information which feeds her need to escape. Gradually the author begins to fill in a few details of the story which makes you even more curious about who Hillary is.Plot wise, it is an interesting idea. The first half focuses on Hillary's plight and what is being done to her though I admit that I found it a bit slow and repetitive. Hillary was continually asking the same things and having the same tantrums which were understandable given her situation but it did go on a bit long for me. It is the second part that really explodes into life with graphic torture, gore and sexual violence. It is not for the faint hearted! I thought the second part of the story from the hypnotism onwards was brilliant. It was funny in a twisted way, it was an entertaining gorefest and it was imaginative. I can imagine that it made many male eyes water quite a bit! These horror scenes were very well written and you were swept along by the story, waiting to see how it was all going to end.The characters were also quite interesting. You were never sure where the plot was going so you were never sure who was good or bad or what these people were being motivated by. That kept things interesting. Even when you found out what was really happening, it was hard to think of anyone as being really innocent in the whole situation! I have no intention of using spoilers so you'll have to read it for yourself to find out what I'm talking about! I think Monica was probably the character that nterested me most. She was never sure how to treat Hillary or whether to believe the girl's accusations against her husband, just as the reader was unsure about the truth. I think these flawed characters added to the story and fit in perfectly with the 'who is the good and bad guy here' theme of the story.My niggle was the slowness of the first half of the book, though I understand that the story was being set up for the later horror. I would've given the first half 2 stars, meaning it was ok, but 4 or 5 stars for the second half. That left me puzzling what to rate this overall! I decided to base my decision on the second half of the book.***WARNING*** This book includes brutally graphic scenes of torture, gore and cannibalism. There are scenes of rape and death as well. Those with weak stomachs need not apply. If you like your blood and gore in the Jack Ketchum style, then this could be the book for you. Recommended for adult horror fans.