Wow! What a story! I was so convinced that I knew everything that was going on when I started reading this book but, boy was I wrong! This books offers so much and is completely unable to be put down!

I am quite a fan of Sharon Bolton's but this didn't live up to my expectations. If nothing else the title of the book felt like it gave away the plot. The story felt disjointed with the two different locations. The final scenes were exciting but the rest of the book wasn't as gripping.

Review
The first couple of chapters in South Georgia Island in Antarctica and Felicity, the glaciologist ploughing her way through the ice and glaciers just dragged for me. I realise it was setting the scene but I almost gave up. I found it hard to piece any of the characters or story together and was just reading. For example, Bamber visiting the Petrel and no-one noticing her leaving the island didn’t seem to fit when you had finished the book.

I persevered and the book changed at Part Two. It became so much more interesting and explained the characters. Learning about Felicity’s life and childhood and Joe and his mother Delilah.

I did find that the story dragged a bit for me, particularly at the beginning and end. And there were some unexplained anomalies.

But all in all, I did enjoy it and I guessed the psychological condition that Felicity had.

I would rate this book 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks
Thank you to the author and publishers Orion Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

I enjoy many psychological thrillers but this one particularly stood out in it's plot/timeline/twists. The characters in the book were complex as was the plot yet not too hard to follow. I've only read one other book by this author but will look out for more.

Fantastic read set in two contrasting backdrops, South Georgia and Cambridge, reflecting the different characters and ‘split’ personalities being portrayed.

The dramatic opening is set in South Georgia where the severe physical conditions are reflected in the story. A woman, Felicity, is seemingly going to extreme lengths to get away from her ex, travelling to the end of the earth to do so. She carelessly leaves sufficient clues for him to follow. Throughout we hear from the different characters POVs.

MovIng back to 9 months earlier in Cambridge, Felicity’s story becomes more complex with strange occurrences, frightening voices and her fear of being watched. Other traumatic issues are revealed under hypnosis with her therapist Joe and more questions are asked than answered.
The story twists and turns until like Felicity, the reader can’t tell real from imaginary and delves into early childhood trauma, mental health issues, psychosis, fear, violence and love.
A thrilling read which keeps you glued to the page for answers until the end.
With thanks to Netgalley and Orion for an advance copy

4 Stars from me

This fabulous thriller will keep you guessing!

I had no idea what to expect from The Split and was soon engrossed in the storyline which begins with Felicity Lloyd fleeing someone across the ice on the remote island of South Georgia before whizzing back to the weeks and months that lead up to this point.

The Split is a fast-paced, multi-faceted thriller with some great characters - all of whom seemed to have an interesting backstory! Joe and his mum were an unconventional pairing although I liked their dynamic.

Felicity herself I found hard to connect with. I enjoyed the counselling conversations although there are some bits and pieces that I now need to go and research!

Have to say I also found the parts about South Georgia and the ice/wildlife fascinating!

An interesting and entertaining read but I did find the start with the different characters confusing. Sadly I did not connect with Felicity’s character? But once the action moved to South Georgia the story clarified itself and the descriptions of thr cold and ice were excellent.

I love Sharon Bolton books which mean that I always try to read them but also means that I worry that the new one will not live up to my own hype.
Don't worry, this one definitely does.

To warn those, like me of a nervous disposition, the first section of the book is absolutely terrifying. We find Felicity on South Georgia, waiting for something or someone terrible, but there is also someone there to help.
It is by going back nine months that we realise that all is definitely not as it seems. Joe was her counsellor and he and his mother are involved in a series of murders of homeless people but who is doing it and how can the key to deaths in Cambridge be found in Antarctica.

I will, however, never be travelling among glaciers!

Fast paced and tense. Well written. Not entirely different to lots of other thrillers out there but certainly well written.

A book set in 2 locations, one is Cambridge and the other, Antarctica. This makes for an unusual read and despite my reading whilst on holiday in c25 degrees, I still felt the chill as the writing is descriptive and the plot lines solid.

The lead character has a troubled past and the story is mainly focused on her trying to escape that past. I’ve enjoyed previous books by this author, but, overall I just found this to be slow and clunky.

An OK read and I’m grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

I have read and enjoyed a few books by Sharon Bolton so was looking forward to reading this. It’s a dark and a tad disturbing read with a lot of plot twists but I wasn’t gripped from the first page like I was with her other books. It’s was slow going in places and I really wanted to enjoy it but sadly I didn’t. It’s definitely not one of her better books., for me anyway.

The Split by Sharon J Bolton is an exciting, compulsive book. At first the story starts slowly but quickly picks up pace to become a thrilling read that you will find hard to put down. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

4.5/5

Sharon Bolton sure knows how to write an edge-of-your-seat thriller and her latest is no exception!

The book opens in South Georgia, 750 nautical miles from it's closest neighbour - The Falkland Islands which incidentally was the setting of my favourite Bolton novel 'Little Black Lies'. She really has mastered the art of making you feel the cold and isolation of these remote settings with her wonderful descriptions of place, this time swapping whales and shipwrecks for penguins and glaciers.

I'll admit I was slightly disappointed when the story jumped back in time to Cambridge to a time before main character Felicity undertook her glacial expedition but I shouldn't have worried as I was sucked into the story well enough that I didn't miss the location for long before returning for a dramatic finale.

What I loved most about the book was that it had a real 'Rosemary's Baby' vibe to it - constantly making you question what is real and what is not which is often very unsettling.

I subtracted half a 🦜 as I felt I was always one step ahead of the plot twists and at one point I actually said Duh! out loud. The consequence of this was that some of the impact of these revelations was lost. I didn't remove the full point as the final twist did take me by surprise.

A dark and disturbing psychological thriller with plenty of twists.

Largely enjoyable and well written but didn't grip me as much as expected as it was rather slow paced towards the end and several plot twists were slightly predictable.

Overall, I would recommend however it is not Sharon Bolton's best work.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group, Trapeze for the ARC.

This is an intense and dark psychological thriller. The author is very good at building suspense. There are twists and turns throughout. It's a real page-turner. Not only is the story well written; you are able to feel the emotions of the individuals, but the descriptions of the location make you feel the desperation.
I would well recommend reading it and also her other books.

I have to be honest and say I have never read a book quite like this. Expecting a simple murder mystery, this has a real twist in the story. The story of Felicity Lloyd, a world famous glaciologist, the novel opens on the Antarctic island of South Georgia, then moves back in time to see what took her there. With a rather far-fetched plot, you have to suspend disbelief to really enjoy this book, but go along for the ride - it’s worth it!

When a fantastic crime and thriller author takes me to a remote island in her novel, I should be afraid. But all I can think of is what is going to happen and when is the storm going to block everything off?

Well, Sharon Bolton has gone one better in this book and takes her readers to the remote island of South Georgia in the middle of the Antarctica. I’d not read about this in a novel before and was intrigued. Someone is after the protagonist who is hiding out here. You think she would be safe, but not in Bolton's book!

What has caused Felicity to black out and forget what her husband is like?Why was she in Cambridge some nine months ago and why did she go on this expedition? How could anyone find her on this remote island in the middle of nowhere? All these questions and more are answered and I had no idea how they would be. It's all very exciting and then BAM - Bolton shoots a pistol of an ending at you which floors you right there and then.

Recommended!

This book will take readers to places they have probably never been before both in geography and the mind! It starts with a lengthy section about the visit of the lead character, Felicity, to the glaciers of the island of South Georgia. Then it reverts to what happened before. Felicity is seeing a rather pathetic psychiatrist ,Joe,who features throughout the book. By unhappy chance,his mother is the lead detective trying to solve the murders of homeless women. Felicity's name is there and thereabouts in the crime scenes. The rather unconvincing element is that she is many different characters. Then she has reasons to escape back to the island so we get even more of it. This book jumps about from time to time and character to character. It is certainly an unusual storyline.

Great read a very unusual story about a woman who has had a traumatic past kept you reading until the end very fast paced and lots of unexpected turns the characters were very likeable and also very complicated. Definitely recommend.

The latest thriller from the talented Sharon Bolton takes us to South Georgia and Cambridge, England and two more diverse locations it’s hard to imagine! South Georgia is a harsh and unforgiving island and is where Felicity Lloyd, a glaciologist is working. She has run as far as she can from Freddie, recently released from HMP Durham and who to her terror, is on board the approaching ship Southern Star and so she prepares to flee once again. On the same ship are two police officers from Cambridge and Dr Joe Grant, a psychologist. Why have they come so far? The story now backtracks nine months to Cambridge. Following an attack Felicity consults Joe for help and he tries to unlock her memory. What unfolds is a scary tale that takes Felicity to the very edge of sanity and at grave risk of arrest following a murder. The story is told from several perspectives including Felicity, Joe and Freddie.

First of all, I love the contrasting locations. You have the unique and extreme cold of South Georgia with its glaciers, icebergs and wildlife. It also has a fascinating history for example, Ernest Shackleton, it’s role in the Falklands War and as a former whaling post. This provides a blue white contrast to the golden glory of the beautiful university city of Cambridge, students, punts and all. It’s a very well written book with the plot unfolding in a very intriguing way. There are some wonderful, colourful descriptions that are so vivid that you can easily imagine yourself as an observer of the events. The tension builds really well and some really weird stuff happens, a lot of which is very scary. You feel Felicity’s despair, her fear and at times her helplessness especially as her traumatic past is revealed. The characters are really good, Felicity is fascinating, Joe is a good man and his mother, Delilah, who is a police officer is fabulous! The end is positively breathtaking and the word exciting doesn’t quite cover it! I’ve no idea is it’s possible but I really don’t care because I love it and all I can say is that it would make the most amazing film!

Overall, it’s a rollercoaster ride, hang onto your hat, prepare to be rocked to your core, have your timbers shivered, your eyes rolling and popping, your teeth chattering and your brain freezing and pray your heart can take it!!! It twists and turns, it flips backwards and forwards, you’ve got it sorted, you’ve not got it sorted, it’s utterly shocking places, a little bit creepy and scary and so obviously I LOVE IT!!!

Huge and very special thanks to NetGalley and Orion for the ARC.