This review will go live at the link below on 21 December:
Hi and welcome to my review of The Spiral!

I was so excited about this book! It seemed like the perfect fit for me, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be…

With the blurb mentioning The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I was all in! Having now read The Spiral, I do feel mentioning Evelyn Hardcastle is a bit of an insult to Stuart Turton. I’m the first to admit that, just like Evelyn Hardcastle, The Spiral is inventive and original, but where the former was confusing in a clever, intriguing, mysterious way, leading to a mind-blowing reveal, the latter was confusing all the way through in a way that got on my nerves and having finished it I’m none the wiser.

Erma Bridges is a researcher working full-time on her book about young adult fiction, she has well and truly turned an obsession into a career and she’s on track to become the youngest associate professor. As the story kicks off, Erma is flying back to Australia to attend a meeting assembled because someone, she suspects her assistant Jenny, has been badmouthing her to HR. Flying in from Spain she’s severely jetlagged and, unfortunately, that’s the way that first part reads, like trying to follow the thoughts of a sleep-deprived person. It might be interesting, but part of you is thinking: what the hell is going on, slow DOWN – and by the end of it I kinda needed a nap myself.

For part two we skip to ten months later, Erma has recovered, physically at least, from being shot at, and after she’s given her shooter’s possessions, she’s trying to figure out what on earth possessed her would-be murderer. Still, the narrative has a sort of abrupt, jittery character. I was intrigued but the writing style made it rather difficult for me to get into the story and stay there.

The story is told in the present tense with the POV alternating between Erma in the first person singular and Sero in the second person singular. I had no clue whatsoever what the Sero chapters were about. They read like an utterly strange combination of a game of Dungeons & Dragons, a weird dream and severe psychological problems. It felt like anything was possible and I didn’t quite know what to do what them. Eventually I decided the best way to go about this book was to stop trying to figure it out, and just go with the flow.

The Spiral is hands down the weirdest book I’ve read all year. It had its enjoyable moments, when I managed to ride the confusion and not let it bug me. It’s a quick read, I flew through it, although admittedly I did skim parts of it. It has an interactive chapter that I really liked. It’s just a really weird mix of thriller and fantasy, which usually works for me, but The Spiral didn’t quite pull it off. I can handle weird and confusing but I hate feeling this confused after finishing a book. Or maybe I’m too dim to get it? I won’t rule it out, but then again, if I can handle Blake Crouch, I can pretty much handle any mind-boggling story out there I daresay. One thing’s for sure: for me this was hit-and-miss, but mostly miss. I dithered between two and three stars for the longest time, but considering my three-star reads this year, awarding The Spiral three stars seemed much too generous and in good conscience I just couldn’t do it.

If you’re at all tickled by any of the above, and looking for a shot of bookish quirkiness to finish the year, then by all means check out The Spiral and don’t let my confusion stop you!

The Spiral is out on the 24th! Thanks to Zaffre Books and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

3 Stars from me

Whaaa what did I just read? My mind is spinning!

This book is part crime thriller and part fantasy - part traditional novel and part 'choose your own adventure', sadly I am not convinced that the two different genres mix well.

Don't get me wrong, both are pretty well written but I am not sure there will be many readers who are strongly fans of BOTH. I mostly enjoyed Erma's story but Sero's isn't really my bag so I found myself skimming those sections just in case there was anything relevant to the main story.

Overall, this is an odd one. I can imagine it will have a bit of a niche following, I am probably just to old fashioned for the style!

Wow this book really will mess with your mind. With the mix of a researched trying to finish of her work and get an interview with a notoriously publicity shy author who wrote the choose your own adventure books she loved as a kid and then an attack that almost kills her. Things spiral into a crazy and scary world intermixed with a choose your own adventure story. This is total different as a read and I loved the nod back to the books I loved as a child. There is something really exciting about choosing where to go next in a story instead of being directed but ultimately the author controls everything.

Sorry not my type of book. I see no need for the amount of swearing .

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

I got The Spiral by Iain Rayn from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.


Erma Bridges' life is far from perfect, but entirely ordinary. So when she is shot twice in a targeted attack by a colleague, her quiet existence is shattered in an instant.

With her would-be murderer dead, no one can give Erma the answers she needs to move on from her trauma. Why her? Why now?

So begins Erma's quest for the truth - and a dangerous, spiralling journey into the heart of darkness.

The Spiral by Iain Ryan, in its simplest form is a thriller about people who have gone missing, and why Jenny, a research assistant, tried to kill Erma Bridges, the professor she was working for before killing herself.

However with the story being told through Erma’s eyes, who may or may not be the most reliable narrator, as she is being investigated by the university she works for.

Erma the narrator, of the story is doing research for a book, about books she used to play with hers sister in the 80’s were you read a section of the book and at the end of it you had a choice to make, eg. choose to go left or right or another maybe fight or run away, for example.

This style of the book is short of mixed in with the story as a whole as Erma has regular dreams of herself being a character she played as a child. In addition at one point in the book you as a reader play a short game, before continuing the story.

The spiral is one of those books that i think is going to divide reades, as people are going to love or hate it, due to the lay out of the story, this is because if you take out the chapters from the role playing game out, you have a really solid thriller, with well written characters and an interesting plot line.

But with the role playing sections in, it will turn people off The Spiral, but for those who enjoyed the book, it may be a contender for the best books of the year.


Who should read the Spiral? The Spiral is for people who enjoy an intriguing thriller, that takes the genre in ways that may infuriate you as a reader.

It is even for those who do not read thrillers as they feel that they are so regimented and formuleric.

All this means that Iain Rayn has written in The Spiral, a book you may love or like but at least you should read, as it does what all forms of entertainment does, which is make you care about it.

Well......as ex-President George W Bush said about Trump’s inauguration address....that was some weird sh*t! Don’t get me wrong, though, this book had me glued over the two evenings it took me to read it. Shades of other books came to mind - Cloud Atlas, perhaps - but it is probably better seen as a book on its own. The writing is particularly suited to the storyline; the pace at times is fast and furious and this is well captured. The plot is unusual, with the two weirdly related timelines and the reader invited to unravel the links between a mythical past, first revealed in novels that offer a user-selected ending, and the present adventures of the lead character. However, the author loses credit for this reader, at least, for the insertion of gratuitously sexually violent misogynistic episodes. They contribute nothing to the plot and provoke the question ‘Why?’. The ending was, perhaps, a little flat after such a pacy narrative. The writing shows plenty of promise of better fare, however, so I look forward to some future offerings.

This is a difficult book to review. It was promoted as a thriller but I feel it really falls into the fantasy genre. Erma is an academic who is working on a book about Choose your own Ending fantasy novels. One evening she is brutally attacked and shot at by her research assistant who then kills herself. After she recovers she starts to investigate why this happened and what Jenny had been up to shortly before her death. The plot is interwoven with another story involving a protagonist in a fantasy novel, which soon develops into a choose your own ending story. The main plot became increasingly far fetched and incredibly violent, it’s not really a thriller as such. The other story, which is supposed to show us the underlying workings of Erma’s brain feels like a conceit, I probably didn’t give it enough of a chance as it’s really hard to go back and try the different paths available on a kindle. It is well written and is not a bad story, not for me though.

I had heard so much about this book that I jumped at the chance to read it.

For me, it was a disappointment. I was confused the whole time, I did not like or care about any of the characters and I wasn’t really caring what happened after a while.

Can’t love them all.

Thanks Zaffre and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

“The most original thriller of 2020”. This is a promise but it’s not a GOOD original thriller which is the most important part! Honestly there’s thousands of thrillers that are better than this.

Not worth my time and not worth yours!

I was so looking forward to this book. Unfortunately for me it did not deliver. It was so confused and there was plenty of rereading, never a good sign. The characters were flat and so unlikable. I did finish this book but it was a real struggle. I just hope that other readers will enjoy it more just not for me.
Thanks to Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this book but unfortunately I found the story confusing and it failed to hold my interest.
The amount of swearing also put me off this story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review

I did enjoy The Spiral, very much. The storyline was a really good one and I can understand that some of the less patient or intuitive readers might have lost interest or not understood the change in characters from Erma to Sero.

If you enjoyed the choose your own adventure books of the 80s or are even aware of them this book is for you.

I’ve been hearing and seeing a lot about this book on Social Media and am a big Zaffre books so was delighted to receive approval to read this book. Unfortunately it really isn’t for me,

I liked the premise of the book but I found almost instantly disliking Erma the main protagonist, she just felt very selfish.. Whilst happy to carry on at that point once the book took its unexpected but quite unique turn into fantasy it completely lost me.

I found the writing style slightly clunky and possibly I’m not the target market for this book. I’ve given it a 2 star review but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this book do well as it is quite a cool and modern take on the crime thriller

Did not and could not get into this at all. Thoroughly awful narrator out me off right from the start. Did not persist.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really didn't connect with this book at all. Erma, who is a female character, felt extremely male and completely unlike any woman I've ever met. Erma is shot at her disciplinary hearing and she wants to find answers as to why. The novel then descends into a bizarre, totally unbelievable fantastical element which is hard to follow and makes zero sense. Described as the "most original thriller" in the hype it seems as though the author went out of his way to make it as ludicrous as possible. The fantasy and violence elements were a real turn off. If you are into gaming then you may enjoy this book much more than I did-sadly. I wouldn't have finished it had I not been reviewing it

I am not sure that enjoyed is a correct terminology to use for my feelings about this book. It is certainly different from any thriller I have read previously. Erma is a troubled soul who wants to find out about he assistant Jenny who attacked her then committed suicide. This obsession leads her into a maelstrom of problems internal and external to herself. The story is told on two levels that include the fantasy game world and real life but the two do eventually converge.
Not an easy read and can be terrifying and edgy in equal amounts . Not for the front hearted.

2.5*
Gore score 2/5
A new author to me. An Australian writer whose previous books have both been shortlisted for the Ned Kelly award.
Erma is awaiting a disciplinary hearing at work when she is shot by her assistant, who then kills herself. She is unable to get answers from the police so she goes in search of the truth.
The writing style feels young and trendy.
It’s hype describes it as the most original thriller of 2020. It is certainly that. I haven’t read anything like it. It is listed as general fiction and mystery thriller.
It starts off normal but before long, it’s hey up this is some weird shit, is she on drugs? But it’s a strange dream world that seems to be a mix of interactive book characters and gaming characters.
The basic thriller aspect has great potential and I liked it. The weird fantasy which is a significant portion of the book I found difficult to get my head round. I am not a fan of fantasy, and I wasn’t expecting to find it in this book from the write up.
The fusion of the genres didn’t work for me.
It might appeal more to fans of fantasy.

I have to admit to finding it difficult to get into this book and if I wasn't reviewing it for NetGalley, I don't think I would have finished it.

I was drawn to the book because the blurb compared it to The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which I absolutely adored, but I honestly don't think it was anything like that particular book. My issue was that I'm not a particular fan of fantasy novels and especially not of choose your own adventure novels so from the start I had difficulty engaging. I was, of course, interested to find out why Erma's student had tried to kill her and then turned the gun on herself, but I wasn't particularly sympathetic toward Erma and as the book fell more and more into the fantasy of the barbarian Sero I found it hard to care exactly what was going on.

Here's the thing. It's well written and for the right person this would be a great read, unfortunately, I'm not that person. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review, I'm just sorry that I didn't enjoy it more.

There seemed to be a reasonable amount of pre-publication hype on this "THE MOST ORIGINAL THRILLER OF 2020. This is high concept crime noir, an all-night, chasing the chapters book. A cult classic in the making ". Seemed like a book for me. So, The Good: The idea to have a book about someone (the protagonist Erma) researching a book on Choose Your Own Adventure fantasy books – and including elements of that style of book within the novel was inventive and fun (indeed the jumping to different parts of the book put me to mind of reading Alex Landragin's 'Crossings' earlier in the year). The examination of mental illness and cultish healing was also interesting. BUT. The Bad: As I didn't really like Erma as a character it was hard to be totally rooting for her as I should have been at times in the book, and so by the very end I just didn't care. And, the last bit of the book should have been edited out as it was just stretching any believability to ridiculous levels. Overall: A book that has its moments but that ultimately failed to engage.

this is a strange book, unique. I liked the first part, Erma's story, i didn't like the alternating chapers with sero then it turned into his/her story a lot more so didn't like a big part of the book, then back to erma but way too violent, unbelievable and the whole thing felt pointless after awhile, it had promise but didn't deliver for me