Cover Image: The Island

The Island

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Member Reviews

This is a psychological thriller
The pacing was off and it dragged in the midpoint
There is a lack of action and it is more of a character study.
The storyline is interesting

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I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

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This was really not as expected but dealt with a difficult topic in a very good way. I had trouble reading at first but am glad I did not give up

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I read quite a lot of thrillers and find a lot of them to be quite samey, but luckily not this one. I thought this had something different, there was a dark edge to it which made the plot powerful and engaging.

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Such a disturbing theme but well handled. I was gripped. I'll look out for more from the author in the future.

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I won my copy of The Island from a competition with the publishers/author so huge huge thank you for that. The book was an amazing psychological thriller and for someone like me who reads a lot of them I can definitely appreciate when they are well written, well rounded and pack everything you’d hope, want and expect in. Highly recommend

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http://www.crimereview.co.uk/page.php/review/9235

The Island hits you hard from the very first paragraphs. There’s an idyllic image of a 15-year-old girl ‘sleeping alone on a grassy bank at the side of a glistening fjord.’ And then are distant voices of more girls attending the International Future Female holiday camp; visions of empowering the youngsters, respect for the others and the environment. The true Norwegian dream …

But the tranquillity of such a serene moment is ruined as shockwaves of a bomb explosion come from the capital city nearby. Two police officers arrive at the island and round up all the teenagers in one place and start shooting. The girl realises that the men cannot be the real police, attempts to warn others and help a younger boy, and tries in vain to escape from the site of the massacre. Then she vanishes.

The nation is in shock. Devastated parents of 91 murdered victims cannot comprehend what had happened in their safe country. A year later a trial is held of two brothers, representing Tactical Brigades of the Knights Templar.

Licia’s parents Cal and Elsa Curtis cannot move on after the massacre. They delve into their missing daughter’s secrets and discover strange activities of their younger girl Vee. Their personal microcosmos shattered, doubts and suspicions of one another appear. Elsa seems more mysterious and aloof. Cal reaches out to charismatic Father Bror of the Patriotic Order of the Temple Knights, who had known Elsa in the past and who offers advice. Because now the couple distrust the police even if Cal and the Chief of Police form an uneasy friendship.

Ben McPherson weaves this chilling, unsettling story of grief and despair into the modern take on the Norwegian reality. His detailed razor-sharp perception of differences between cultural and social aspects of different societies gives drama and depth to the vividly authentic main characters who struggle to process their trauma.

Elsa, an uncompromising photographer and quintessential Nordic goddess, lives by the principle of absolute honesty in her approach to life. Cal, a Scottish satirist, remains a foreigner, an observer, slightly adrift in Norway where the family have moved for a while after living in the USA for many years.

As a spectator to the national tragedy he feels that his own family has fallen apart as a result of not knowing if Licia is dead or alive, whether she somehow managed to survive the massacre, and at the same time hearing his little girl hailed as a hero. That last element makes him equally proud and concerned: video footage shot by a TV crew in a helicopter shows a girl wearing a distinctive dress and saving lives of other youngsters. But an old photo of Licia holding a gun during a shooting practice in the USA emerges and appeals to those blinded by white power.

The aftermath of the terrorist attack by a white supremacist in July 2011 in Oslo and on Utøya island echoes throughout this gripping intense novel, and occasionally makes for disconcerting reading as The Island is inspired by true events. However, the author meticulously analyses the aftershock experienced by all members of the society and the emotional consequences impacting on the Curtis family’s perspectives and that process of change, of attempting to rationalise their responses, of processing all contradictory feelings, is told with sensitivity and understanding.

This psychological thriller is deftly penned by an author who sees even the smallest differences in the changing society, and through this prism he delivers an outstanding study of personal heartbreak.

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I went for a DNF on The Island as I found the initial chapters too dark and disorienting. I was sure what I was expecting going into the novel but I wasn't keen on what I found. The Island has impressive elements but it just wasn't for me.

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Loved this read! Couldn't put it down and decided to read it all in one sitting, definatly did not disapoint! Thankyou author!

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I found this book hard going and really just kept going to find out what happened. Too slow to start with and the very interesting premise is oddly carried out and very bogged down in detail.

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This was a very good read, tense to the last full of twists and turns. It drew me in from the start and held my attention throughout. I wanted to continue reading too but unfortunately life got in the way. The story and plot line wasn't hugely unexpected. I had a strong idea from the offset that it would be based around a similar storyline to the Norway shooting. Nevertheless it make for interesting reading and I would highly recommend this book. The characters were well written and highly plausible, the story was well edited. I really enjoyed it.

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We are given a bombing and then a serious attack on children and adults on an island in Norway, where a family who initially believes that their eldest daughter has been killed only to be missing. The story highlights many things throughout including how this kind of atrocity affects a family especially when not knowing one way or the other may be worse than knowing that their child is dead or alive. It starts off at a good pace however like real life ,after six months (the middle of the book) it slows down and then picks up again in the latter parts when the trial begins. A family who believes itself to be strong and parents who think that they know their children, find out how fragile life is. Trust and betrayal feature a lot in the book and as the reader you are thrown from one thought to the next in the matter of a page! A semi Scandi-noir with a touch of Scottish thinking makes this a very readable book and certainly one which raises a few moral dilemmas too.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

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There are many aspects of this book that I liked, and a few that I wasn’t so keen on.

I love books set in places other than England, particularly based around wilderness, mountains etc, so on a Norwegian Fjord gave the book a head start in my eyes.

I loved the intrigue during the first quarter of the book.

I struggled with character connection. I didn’t feel any particular care towards any of them, and never felt they were fully formed.

It was slow at times - and I felt the ending wrapped up far too quickly.

There were too many ‘lose threads’ and pointless parts of the story - all leading up at a short, sharp climax that left me wanting to feel satisfied but not quite managing it

I did like the premise and thought it covered some brave topics such as terrorism, radicalization and racism - but it was fairly weak overall

** I’ve heard this author has written some previously fantastic books though so I will 100% give an earlier book and future book a try, but this one just didn’t hit the spot for me **

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This is an interesting tale set in Oslo and covers the massacre of children and adults at a summer camp by two men dressed as policemen. The novel covers the aftermath of this event including the family of a girl who is missing presumed dead. It is thought provoking and covers some difficult subject matter which some people may find difficult. I did struggle to be sympathetic to the Curtis family despite their loss of Alicia. They have too many half truths, suspicions, secrets and antagonisms to be truly likeable

Thank you netgalley and Harper Collins for my ARC copy of this novel

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This is my first read by Ben McPherson and I was drawn to it by the synopsis and cover. It starts off well but ultimately I found it to be slow paced and just couldn't engage with it. For me, the writing didn't flow and I found it stilted.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

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This book has been completely and utterly impossible to put down. I have been completely gripped, suspicious of all the characters involved and completely unable to predict where this book was going. This is well-written, completely addictive and all round a wonderful gem. I absolutely recommend this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the arc of The Island by Ben McPherson.

4 star read- I cant tell you what happens you need to find out for yourself as it will wreck you and spoil to much but such a gripping and interesting read, gripped from start to finish i highly recommend to all who love thrillers but wow just wow!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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SPOILER FREE REVIEW!
I got to read this book through NetGalley and I’m very appreciative for the chance, thank you.
This book is out now and is from Harper Collins UK, HarperFiction.
I don’t want to give anything away for this book so I’ll just tell you how I feel about it.
I’ll start with my only negative. I kind of knew from the blurb but reading this really bought home the similarities between this work of fiction and the Norway shootings back in 2012. I can’t ignore this. It didn’t take from the story for me and you could say it raises awareness and is helping people remember, BUT I can’t help but wonder how I’d feel if I were affected by the Norwegian mass shooting, or any real mass shooting I guess. So I’d put a trigger warning for that I think.
Other than that I really really enjoyed this story! I read for hours (I’m a slow reader) and just enjoyed the building tensions and twists and turns, but it didn’t feel slow at all. The descriptions of Norway were great, I’d love to visit the country one day... The characters were all flawed in some ways but aren’t we all? It made them more real for me. I particularly enjoyed Viktoria and her relationships with her parents.
I definitely recommend you read this book!

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3.75*
A new to me author.
A psychological thriller set in Oslo about a summer camp for teens on a island. It turns into a nightmare 2 gunmen from a white supremacist group start shooting.
As the parents are waiting for news, some are relieved that their children are unharmed, some get them worst news, 91 young lives lost. Cal and Elsa are left in limbo, as Licia is missing. The story is told is told from Cal and Elsa’s perspective.
They start delving into their daughters lives, and discover lies and secrets, most disturbing is their other daughters (Vee) behaviour. There is so much hurt and anger. Their lives are unravelling as we read. It tugs on your emotions. I felt the most real reaction was from Vee.
My first thought is that despite the author being British it feels like I’m reading a Scandi translation, it has that clunky feel that puts me off reading Scandi. I didn’t really gel with the writing style.
It has a slow steady pace, the emotional portrayal kept my interest.
It is a book that made me think, I really liked the story line,I would have preferred the beginning half to have more pace. I think it lacked tension at the end, the events unfolding felt a bit flat. The ending lifted my score, more for the events than the portrayal.

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Shocking , violent and full of twists and turns . Betrayal is at the heart of this novel and serious suspense , will keep you up
At night !

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