I am delighted to share my review today of Spiral by Cameron Ward. This is a tense edge-of-your-seat read that has an interesting twist.
My huge thanks to Michael Joseph Books for accepting my request to read this title via NetGalley.
You’re on a routine flight from London to LA.
Hundreds of people are on board – including your estranged son, Theo.
Ten hours into the flight, something goes terribly wrong. The engine fails. The plane enters a steep dive.
You, and everyone else on board, die instantly.
Then, you wake up. It’s one hour before the crash. You can’t believe it – you’re alive. Your beloved son is safe.
Until, terrifyingly, the same chain of events repeats itself. Again, and again, and again.
You’re the only one who knows what’s about to happen.
And the lives of everyone on board depend on you.
MY REVIEW
This is a fabulous thriller that involves Theo an aircraft pilot, his mother and people from his past and present. The book’s title is very appropriate as Theo’s life spirals out of control as does the aeroplane he is flying.
The synopsis was very intriguing and definitely captured my attention when I read it. The thought of being caught in a loop that replays is good for adding suspense and mystery to a story, and this author has done it very well. This does have an obvious sci-fi edge to it with this time loop that has been included, but it only plays a very small part in the overall story. In some way, this time loop gives the author an additional way to enlighten the reader to the bigger picture.
Theo has never known who his father was, but after discovering some papers he finds that his mother has known who he was. Decidedin he needs to know more about himself and his roots, Theo goes off to the US to find him. What he finds is nothing like he imagined and he enters a world that is dark, and dangerous and will leave him wondering if he will survive!
I really like the way the author used the time loop aspect of this story, each time there was a reset there was a change. In between these the life of Theo, his relationship with his father and other people he meets during his time in the US is told. Alongside this is his mother’s story, how she has always feared for him and has been so very protective of him.
Wanting to find his own answers leads to a split from his mother, but that does not mean his mother is about to let him walk from her. After all, she has looked after him and cared for him for all his life and she is not going to stop now.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I found myself wondering just how and if a mother could save so many people and also how quickly Theo’s life spiralled down. The story that emerges of their lives and also of Theo’s journey takes such a dark turn, but it is not as if he has not been given warnings to stay away. What he imagined is so far from what he discovers and this makes for such an interesting transition from a successful young man to someone who is desperate and on the edge.
A brilliant story with a great slip, well laid out and kept me avidly reading. If you like crime thrillers with a twist then this is one you may like to have a look at. It is one I would happily recommend.
Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx
