ARR - Turner by Karl Drinkwater

Turner by Karl Drinkwater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Blurb From Goodreads

An isolated Welsh island seemed like the perfect escape for a convict on the run, a jilted woman, and a policeman seeking a quiet life. When the surly locals turn to murderous violence the three visitors are forced on the run together, trying to stay one step ahead of their increasingly insane pursuers.

The bad news keeps coming. There are too many to fight. There is no escape from the island. And the worst storm in years has just begun. They can only run and hide as they face a night of horror and madness. If they don't work together then none of them will live to see the light of day.

Phil Rickman, on BBC Radio Wales' Phil The Shelf literary programme, likened it to "The Wicker Man in Wales". The writer Bec Zugor summed it up as: "This will do, for visiting remote islands, what Jaws did for swimming in the sea."

This tense survival horror novel is a homage to decades of nasty villains, scary predicaments, and bloody books and films.

My Review

A small island in Wales, beautiful countryside, small population and right beside the sea, sounds perfect right? It does for a newly located police officer David Smithwick, wanting a quiet change away from his recent past with his new dog Spotty. A young man, Chris, looking to stay under the radar, get a wee job and keep his head down & Megan a young woman taking a break, camping and being at one with nature after being jilted by her lover. These three are looking for something in this island away from the "real world" and get a lot more than they bargain for. When David happens upon Megan by accident, or fate, soon they realize this town is more than they bargained for and are soon on the run for their lives. When Chris comes into the mix, the trio must trust in each other, strangers, to fight for their lives and try and come to terms with what is happening and stay ahead of the horror and violence that awaits them.

When I am approached by an author who isn't well known, I approach the books with an open mind but never expect too much. I was really surprised and delighted by this wee book, coming in at 191 pages, I read it in one night. It is a creepy wee town and there are more than the three characters I listed above, they are the start of main ones. There are "baddies" throughout the book and satanic tones but I don't want to spoil any surprises or ruin the suspense for you. The book reminded me of many, many horror movies that I have loved growing up, not in a copying sense, more how you are drawn in to the creepiness and thinking oh no, do go in there or don't do that.

It doesn't take long to start and the anticipation that something is about to go wrong and is eerie starts from the opening chapter. There were a few wee things that annoyed me however characters in horror movies and books will always evoke this reaction, for me anyway.

Chris has quite a mouth on him and if swearing offends you, you should steer clear of this book as his language does get quite colorful. However I believe if you were being hunted down you may be the same and it falls in with his character background, which you find out about as the story progresses.

I did enjoy this book, especially one part near the end of the story, I may have actually whooped out loud! I would read this author again and indeed have another on my tbr list but for me this time it is a 4/5. If your looking for a new author to try, like stories that revolve around remote towns gone wrong, blood lust and murder then I think this might be perfect for you. Available on amazon for £7.00 in paperback or £2.01 for the kindle. Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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