3.5 stars
Erma was shot. Twice. By her research assistant Jenny. Who coincidentally (maybe) also lodged a complaint against her. Jenny's research is missing and Erma is desperate to get hold of it to complete the book she is writing. Research which includes an interview with a reclusive author famed for his "choose your own" adventure novels. Erma is assisted in part by her colleague and friend who is herself investigating missing women.
And then it all gets a bit weird... and not necessarily in a bad way, just a strange, didn't see that coming, what's this all about, kind of a way... We follow Sero as he tries to regain his memories in a fantasy world with parallels to Erma's own journey. And then things take a very dark turn indeed, recovering the book to a very clever and indeed novel conclusion.
And that's pretty much all I can say about what happens in the book as it is all a little convoluted and interconnected and reality and fantasy weave around each other and, well, you'll see when you read it for yourself. It's also hard to say much about individual characters due also to the way things progress but I did manage to connect to Erma, even if I didn't actually like her!
I predict that this book will be marmite. And as such will also make for a great book club read as there is definitely loads to talk about at its conclusion. I also fear that it will entice readers in and then lose them along the way due to the path it takes. To those people who start and then struggle I will say do carry on. It is worth getting to the end. The journey may not always make sense along the way but it does all come good at the conclusion.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

About a third of the way through I actually didn't think I wanted to finish this book. It was odd. Moving from the protagonist Erma, to Sero the Barbarian, a fantasy figure that haunts Erma's dreams, I found it disjointed and somewhat confusing. But I did persevere, and having finished it, I still don't know whether I enjoyed it or not. I understand that as Erma is writing a book on Choose Your Own Adventure fantasy books, it makes some kind of sense that she dreams in those terms, and indeed, the book becomes more weighted toward the fantasy life than the reality. Fantasy being my least favourite genre, this was always going to be a difficult read.

On the other side, the story where Erma is trying to make sense of why her research assistant shot her, and then turned the gun on herself, is interesting. But when Erma goes to interview an author, Moder, the story becomes stranger than fiction, and I found it a little too far-fetched for my liking.

I'm sure this book, being original and imaginative, will appeal to some readers, but for me, it just wasn't my cup of tea, and I didn't engage with the story or any of the characters.

The Spiral by Iain Ryan is a story about a young woman Dr Erma Bridges who is suspended awaiting a disciplinary hearing after being shot by her research assistant Jenny Wasserman but she has now gone missing and Erma goes tracing her steps to find her and also to find her research with she has taken it with her.
The thriller is full of twists and turns and half of the story turns into a fantasy novel which I found quite weird. And I must say this is not a bad book and is great read for someone that likes the mix of the two genres. But unfortunately for me I just couldn’t get the hang of it changing so quickly between the two and that I just thought what the hell is going on. Three stars from me.

The Spiral tells the story of a young woman named Erma as she tries to cope with the aftermath of being shot by a former colleague. Her life takes a bizarre and disturbing turn, and the closer she gets to figuring out her colleague’s motivations and retracing her steps, the more endangered she becomes.

It was fascinating to read a book where the protagonist is so loosely tethered to reality and the consequences of her actions. Erma has faced a lot of trauma and the way she speaks reflects that completely. The writing style, the storyline, Erma’s behaviour and the choose-your-own-adventure elements blend together to create something unsettling, disturbing and desperately addictive.

I’m fairly sure it would be impossible to go into this book knowing what to expect. I knew that it wouldn’t be a standard thriller, but there was no way of knowing just how many strange twists and turns would be taking place throughout. The unique mix of fantasy, thriller and mystery elements is something I haven’t come across before and, if that sounds like something you’re interested in, I would entirely recommend it.

The integration of the fantasy elements definitely threw me off a little at first, and I struggled to grasp the relevance of these random snippets mixed in with Erma’s story, but it all seemed to tie together and begin to make sense towards the end. The short, no-nonsense way that Erma’s parts were written also made it a little difficult to get used to initially, but this turned out to be a very good way of keeping up the break-neck pace and wasting no time. It’s an incredibly fast-paced story as a result, and it’s absolutely the kind of book you can get through in a day.

This book is very far out of my comfort zone, but it was fast-paced, unique, gripping and I would imagine soon-to-become an essential read for lovers of choose-your-own-adventure and fantasy/thriller blends. If you’re looking for something bizarre that you absolutely have never read anything similar to before, this might be the perfect choice.

Erma Bridges has been accused of unprofessional behavior by her assistant, Jenny, who has since gone missing. Not long after Erma is shot, twice. Has Erma really done something so egregious that she deserved to be shot? As Erma begins researching other women who have disappeared from the college campus where she works, she wonders if she has uncovered a terrible secret. Interwoven with Erma’s story is the story of Sero, Erma’s dream protagonist. To be honest, this is where the story kind of lost me. Fantasy is not a favorite genre and the mixture of fantasy and mystery just didn’t jell for me

Certainly different and I’m sure it would appeal to those who like ‘choose your own adventure’ books. Fast paced and with plenty of twists and turns I did persevere and finish it in a day. Personally I found following the different threads a little confusing and the final chapters just too unbelievable to be truly satisfied.

Wow, this book was really something completely different than what I was expecting! The protagonist’s terror and the plot are really one of a kind. Who attacked her and why are the epicenter of this multifaceted story.

There are elements to this story that I’ve never seen done before and It wasn’t until half-way through that I actually understood the relationship of the main story and the fantasy story within. Let me expand on that. Erma Bridges is our main character and we read her narrative. But in between this we have a narrative of Sero, a barbarian in an unknown land, and as you read you see people from Erma’s life mentioned. So what the heck is going on?

Erma’s life is turned upside down when she is shot twice by a colleague, but as Erma deals with the aftermath, wondering why and looking for answers, the truth leaves her spiraling into a world of darkness.
Erma is studying methods that the author Moder uses when writing his books. The ones where you can choose different paths as you read along. This is where the narrative of Sero comes in. These are laid out in that kind of format running alongside Erma’s journey. As both stories unfold, we see how they are connected and at one point you are a reader choosing paths.

It really is hard to explain any more without revealing things that may spoil the plot. This is a clever novel and once you get over the initial ‘eh?’ you will find that the story is quite something.

The way the writing is paced is short and sharp moving along quickly, which I particularly liked as you were not bogged down with lots of detail, making each moment of the story get straight to the point.

The way this novel is constructed is certainly original, it may not be to everyone’s taste but I admire the intricate way the author married the whole story together. As a reader of just about everything I’m interested to see if the author has done anything else just as inventive.

After hearing about this book for so long, I was finally able to read it, it certainly does not disappoint. It is a very original and unique way for a book to be written but it works so well, I have never seen it done before. The story is fast paced and engaging, there are quite a few twists but the reader is the one to choose which way the story goes. It is such a fun and interesting read, that I consumed it within a few hours and now want to read it all over again. I cannot wait to see what the author Iain brings to the plate with this next book.

This is an odd book for me - I went in expecting a run-of-the-mill thriller and came out with a thriller that has dashes of mystery and fantasy included. The thriller, great, the mystery, good, however, for me, the fantasy was a little tacked on. I was never a fan of choose your own adventures - in fact, I can say that when I was young I actively went out of my way not to read them as I just couldn't wrap my head around why people would choose their own plot. And, i'm still not a fan.

That's not to say this book isn't worth a shot - a decent thriller where the main protagonist that begins with a bang and does not let up is always a good time. For me though, the choose your own fantasy parts bugged me enough that by the end I just wasn't invested. Frustrating, however, if you're not like me and have some weird hang-ups about that type of novel, then run with this and you'll find a unique time!

I honestly do not know where to go with this review. It is either going to be very short or exceedingly long as I struggle to get to grips with what just happened. I'll admit it - I was sucked in by a strong marketing campaign and I was intrigued to see what it as all about, this 'gripping, inventive and unpredictable' thriller ... Well, unpredictable is right. Part thriller, part mystery and part fantasy/choose your own adventure-eque hybrid, this was not what I was expecting at all.

That's not to say this was an unpleasurable reading experience. It wasn't. Author Iain Ryan has certainly done a brilliant job of creating the tension and also the intrigue as our protagonist, Erma, struggles to come to terms with the fact that her once student and assistant, Jenny as gone missing possibly after lodging a formal complaint about Erma's behaviour. A complaint which, in Erma's mind at least, has absolutely no merit. When an attempt is made on Erma's life, the tension ratchets up and, like Erma, I really wanted to know what she could possibly have done that would make someone want to kill her so badly.

This is a college campus set thriller in part, and some of the story is given over to one of Erma's colleagues, whose research is into women you have gone missing from campus over the years, never to be heard of again. This is another aspect of mystery or suspense that is cleverly woven into the story, subtly enough that you are always conscious of it but never so much that it takes over from the main plot and Erma's obsession with finding the truth behind what happens to her and where the research that Jenny was doing on her behalf has disappeared to.

Now Erma's research is for a book she is writing, one in which she needs to gain an interview with a resculive writer famed for his fantasy adventure, or choose your own adventure novels to be more correct - remember those - books that Erma had obsessed over as a child. The style of those books leaches into the everyday by way of Erma's dreams and this is where the book gets a little ... odd. It's either exceedingly clever - and to be fair Ryan does make a brilliant job of creating that otherworld, that dream place in which Erma's search for the truth is mirrored in the dream protagonist - Sero's - quest to recover his memories. The world is mutli-faceted, the many characters fully formed and believable. If you like Fantasy then I think you will love it. Half of the chapters are told from Erma's perspective and half from Sero's, although, towards the end Sero very much takes over as Erma struggles to understand her current reality.

This is where I struggled. I don't really like fantasy, haven't ventured into that world in many a year, and I have to admit to skim reading much of it, but still found myself able to follow it. It is also the point where the book takes a decidedly dark turn and whilst not graphic, plays out like the beginning of every misogynists ideal world. The various plot elements are drawn together in dramatic fashion but by this point, after such a long and complicated build up, it felt a little rushed and perhaps a touch too convenient?

If you like crime mystery, suspense and fantasy, maybe you will get more from this book than I did and I certainly wouldn't want my thoughts to put you off. Every book has it's perfect audience, right? It's certainly quite original but there is something about it which has left me uncertain. Perhaps because I never fully gelled with Erma. Bizarrely it is the fantasy hero, Sero, I was more interested in, despite not liking the genre. You get a great sense of place and the tension and pace really pick up in the latter stages of the book, but perhaps it was just too far adrift of the crime genre for me to fully appreciate the full package. I didn't not like it, but I'd say that I am still stuck on that fence, not sure which side I'm finally going to fall.

Well I was looking for something different and I certainly got that. In a good way? I’m not sure. It wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be for most people
If I was going to recommend this to anybody I’d aim it at the University student age group. Those that have just left. Youth fiction behind but are not getting what they want from adult crime
No public review posted because I don’t believe in giving any negativity just because I’m not keen. But I will certainly be keeping an eye on this book. I wouldn’t be surprised if it found a really good following.

Totally madcap, break-neck speeds, a bit too edgy for me as I just couldn't relate to the characters, but it is well-written and will be a great read for the right audience.

Interesting read, I have been highly anticipating this one and have been left slightly disappointed. I think the plot was slower than I had expected which spoilt this a little for me. Still a good read!