The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd
Format: Paperback (ARC)
Source: Publishers via LoveReading UK
Publisher: Bantam Press an imprint of Transworld Publishers Ltd
Genres: Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Crime
Publication Date: 20th February 2020
Synopsis/Blurb (LoveReading UK):
“Elijah has lived in the Memory Wood for as long as he can remember. It’s the only home he’s ever known. Elissa has only just arrived. And she’ll do everything she can to escape. When Elijah stumbles across thirteen-year-old Elissa, in the woods where her abductor is hiding her, he refuses to alert the police. Because in his twelve years, Elijah has never had a proper friend. And he doesn’t want Elissa to leave. Not only that, Elijah knows how this can end. After all, Elissa isn’t the first girl he’s found inside the Memory Wood. As her abductor’s behaviour grows more erratic, Elissa realises that outwitting strange, lonely Elijah is her only hope of survival. Their cat-and-mouse game of deception and betrayal will determine both their fates, and whether either of them will ever leave the Memory Wood. “
My Thoughts & Review
The Memory Wood follows the story of a 13 year old chess player Elissa who is abducted from the car park where she is competing in a major chess tournament. She is taken into The Memory Wood and locked up in an underground hide out. During her imprisonment Elissa is visited by a 13 year old boy called Elijah, and they begin to form a kind of friendship.
The Memory Wood started off like any other mystery/thriller, but then felt like it was going to turn into a fairy tale retelling but I was wrong, in fact it turned into a very creepy page turner, that I found very difficult to put down.
The book is well written and the story is told through three different perspectives and jumps back and forwards. Sometimes when a story is told in this way it can get confusing and difficult to follow but not in this book, in this book everything felt like it flowed, and it’s not very often you find this in books.
The characters in The Memory Wood were very interesting and some were quite creepy. My favourite was Elissa, although thrown into scary situation she was able to keep clam and use some of her chess theories to stay alive. She’s not your average 13 year old.At the beginning I thought Elijah’s character was weird and scary but by the end I felt sorry for him as it’s all what it seems with him.
This was a great debut novel, with some great twists and with ending that will have set you heart racing and have you sitting on the edge of your seat. I think this novel would make a great movie and if it is ever made into a movie I would definitely go and watch it. I look forward to see what else Sam Lloyd has to offer.
If you love yourself an addictive, creepy read with some police procedural thrown in this is definitely the book for you. So, don’t forget to keep an out for this new book coming in February 2020.
I would like to thank both the publisher’s Bantam Press (imprint of Transworld Publishers Ltd) and LoveReading UK for my ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.
I read this for the prompt A 2020 Release for the 2020 TBR Reading Challenge created by Mina @ Stacked Reviews
My Rating
💙💙💙💙1/2
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Happy Reading!!!
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