Nancy was only too happy to leave the hustle and bustle for the remote Scottish island where her partner Calder grew up. But when Calder is brought back from the dead after a freak accident in a freezing cold ocean, he doesn't seem anything like the man she thought she knew...

This was an interesting premise - I thought it would lean far more towards the supernatural but I'm also somewhat glad it went into the direction it did. Pacing was good and the ending was definitely a surprise. Would read another book from Webb!

A dark, chilling, gothic mystery set on a remote Scottish island. I liked the wild setting but was not absorbed by the story. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

After the death of Calder's mother he & Nancy leave their London life to live on Langer, one of the slate islands off the West coast of Scotland. When Calder is involved in a boating accident & almost dead, Nancy fears she has lost him, but the miracles of medicine bring him back- but is he the Calder she knows & loves or has someone else returned to her?

I have really mixed feelings about this book. I loved the setting (having lived on one of the Slate Islands I could really visualise it) However I struggles with Nancy, she is obsessed with her guilty secret & there is so much of the book reiterating that I began to want to shake her & say, "Tell him or don't tell him-just get on with it." I kept the attention & sprung a few surprises. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

An intriguing and fascinating mix of whodunit, psychological thriller and gothic. A twisty and dark story that kept me turning pages and on the edge.
I loved the setting, wasn't a big fan of the characters
Gripping and fascinating.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed Liz Webb's second psychological thriller, The Saved, after having savoured her first book 'The Daughter', last year.

In 'The Saved' , young couple Nancy and Calder are moving back to a remote Scottish island following the death of Calder's mother Isla, who lived on the island and left them her isolated cottage.
Their journey starts full of anticipation and excitement for their new life ahead, leaving the London rat-race behind. But when Calder falls into ice-cold water during a bitterly cold fishing trip, and is plunged under the freezing sea, Nancy is absolutely terrified that he is dead. Doctors are able to bring Calder back to life slowly, restarting his heart as he returns to a more normal body temperature. But he is not the man that Nancy fell in love with; he is short-tempered and aggressive, pushing Nancy away, and she is terrified that he has been somehow replaced by someone else.

At the same time, Nancy is battling her own guilt following a misjudged decision back in London, and she can't help but feel that it is her fault that Calder had his near-fatal accident. She doesnt know who to turn to in her new island setting; who can she trust without causing further ructions and upset?

The island setting was perfectly realised in the story. The rugged landscapes, endless skies, the slate beaches and commanding cliff tops, populated by sheep, deer, birds and other wildlife, felt very real and gave the story a real sense of place.

I could really feel Nancy's emotional journey, from the exhilaration of starting a new life with the man she loves, to the desperate lows that she felt following his accident and recovery. She doesn't know what to do for the best, can she bring her partner back to her or is he lost for ever? The story took some dramatic twists and turns that I was not anticipating, and I was hooked until the last page.

A very good mix of murder/psychological thriller with a bit of a gothic vibe thrown in for good measure. Written in the first person from Nancy’s point of view this was a spine tingling read from the off as Calder and his partner Nancy move from London to the remote island of Langer, off the Scottish coast. Atmospheric in spades and the author’s vivid descriptions made the island a character in its own right. An insular island community with a strange bunch of inhabitants the island is a slate island and the slate appears to be almost worshipped. I certainly won’t be moving there!

Briefly, it’s 20 years since Calder left the island but following his mothers death he and Nancy are moving into her cottage aiming for a new and more laidback lifestyle. But it soon becomes anything but that when Calder is nearly killed in a boating accident. Clinically dead he is brought back but is he the same man Nancy loved?

Some great characters in this book, in particular the minister Arran, who I found to be quite sinister. Nancy was a complicated character who seemed to expect disaster in retribution for her own past misdeeds and Arran was definitely a bit Jekyll and Hyde. It was hard to know who to trust and who to believe. Some excellent twists and turns had me changing my mind about who I suspected more than once. An excellent fast paced and creepy story full of secrets and lies, very entertaining.

4.5⭐️ rounded up

This book was absolutely brilliant! It was a well written, refreshing mix of psychological thriller and murder mystery. The first half had a touch of psychological horror that gave me major Stephen King vibes. I loved the beautiful winter ambiance of an isolated Scottish island. The setting was vividly described and it made me feel like I was there. The atmosphere felt a little like my favorite Shetland TV show. I enjoyed the Frankenstein elements and I appreciated the thoroughly researched and fascinating medical aspect of the story. The close-knit small island community with unique traditions added extra creepiness, and the plot twists provided an emotional rollercoaster. It was absolutely perfect!
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Thank you NetGalley for this ARC that was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Last year I read The Daughter by the same author. I enjoyed that book very much so was excited to see the author had a new book coming out.

That's a shame, but I didn't really enjoy this book anywhere near as much as The Daughter.  The book is certainly atmospheric, perhaps that was half the problem, it was a little too atmospheric and the island Nancy had moved to sounded dismal.  There were some very good descriptions of the surroundings, the weather, the people who lived on the island which unfortunately for me, made for rather a depressing read. I certainly wouldn't like to live there and would be having serious reservations about making my home there. But that's me, and at first Nancy seems quite taken with getting away from London and starting over.

I also found it quite slow. I do like lots of dialogue in the books I read but there were long descriptions from Nancy (the book is written in the first person from Nancy's point of view) which I didn't enjoy and got a bit bored with.  

There is some very tense action towards the end of the book, which livened things up somewhat and I did get quite engrossed in that. There are a few twists towards the end that I did anticipate coming, but couldn't really guess what those twists would be.  All in all, I must admit to being a little disappointed in this one. But that is just my take on it, and I'm sure it will be enjoyed by many.

The only hope I had for this book was for it to curb my ‘winter mystery’ cravings, and Liz Webb MORE THAN delivered. I would describe this book as a gothic thriller - very spine tingly, with some excellently unexpected twists and turns. This book is beautifully written - fast paced and engaging, with incredibly descriptive imagery that makes you feel so present in the narrative.
The Saved follows the story of Nancy and her partner Calder after they move from their corporate London lives to the fictional remote island of Langer, following the death of Calder’s mother. Nancy really struggles with intrusive thoughts and is always convinced that things are about to go very wrong, in some kind of cosmic retribution for her past wrongdoings. Her fears are confirmed when, almost immediately after arriving on Langer, her partner nearly drowns. Upon being brought ‘back to life’ Calder seems to have completely changed, as though he has literally become a different person, and it’s left to Nancy to figure out whether something sinister is at work or if it’s all in just her head…
This story grapples with the ideas of ‘sin’, culpability, guilt and betrayal and has a really delicious hint of mystery and the mystical. It’s a great read and I’d definitely recommend you get your hands on this book when it’s released!

This review will be posted on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/itshardbackouthere/ and TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@hardbackouthere on Friday the 15th of December 2023.

Two decades after he left it, Calder is returning to the place where he once belonged - an isolated island off the west coast of Scotland. While his partner Nancy is initially willing enough to accompany him to Langer Island, she is less happy to discover hints of his dark past, and the remote surroundings she now find herself in.

And if all that were not bad enough, Nancy's worst fears are realised when Calder's boat is found capsized, with him quite literally dead in the water. When he is miraculously resuscitated, it turns out not to be the relief that Nancy was expecting. Because the man who has beaten death to return to her seems a total stranger...

This is a gripping and atmospheric read. Offering an original concept and some interesting twists along the way, The Saved is a story that lingers in the reader's mind long after it has been read.

If you're looking for atmosphere and chills this thriller by Liz Webb is definitely recommended.
Langar Island, off the west coast of Scotland is wild, windswept and remote and Nancy and partner Calder are about to make it their home. Twenty years after he left there, he's returning and taking her with him.

The scene setting was impressive. The remote island, its strange inhabitants and the brutal slate coastline easy to visualise. This was a bit of a slow starter for me but when it took off it really did, the storyline gathering pace and the tension growing. I found this book eerily chilling with a good sense of atmosphere. Definitely recommended.

Nancy and Calder leave their jobs in London to move to Langer, the remote island off the coast of Scotland where Calder was raised. Calder has inherited his late mother’s cottage and the two want to live a simpler life. Their relationship is sound. So they believe. Actually, it has more cracks than the slate that covers almost every surface of the island. Calder is hiding secrets rooted in his childhood while Nancy’s are both more recent and devastating. Soon the couple are immersed in life in this small village, life which centers around an odd church and Arran, its minister. Then Calder is found nearly drowned and clinically dead in the freezing waters off Langer and must be slowly revived. He is miraculously saved but the man who comes back from death isn’t the Calder Nancy knows. Perhaps the island has secrets of its own. Secrets buried more deeply than Nancy and Calder can imagine.

The Saved is dark, Gothic fiction at its best. The location, fictional but based on the real slate islands, is atmospheric and creepy. Falling sheep (yes, that happens), secret affairs, gossip and suspicion are all part of the eerie tapestry that makes The Saved compulsively readable.
5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Allison & Busby and Liz Webb for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for my approval to read and review this book.

Nancy and Calder leave their London life to move back to Langar, a slate island, on the west coast of Scotland. Calder left the island more than 20 years ago. They move back to his old home, which has been left to him following his Mum's death. One day, Nancy wakes up to find Calder is not in the cottage. She goes to look for him and sees his boat in the sea upside down! She runs to seek help from Arran and they sail out to find him. Calder is not breathing and they do everything to get him to wake up. Calder and Nancy are flown to a hospital, where life saving measures wake him up. This story has great descriptions, well written characters, atmospheric, brutal landscape, and many more reasons to pick up this book to see how the ending comes about!

A strange dark book. Quiet enjoyable with great twists and turns.. Well written characters with flaws and good points. I would recommend and will seek out other works from this author.