One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole

OMG!!!! What a continuous mind twist! The plot slid about like a living thing, every time you thought you had a grasp, it slithered away again! Not only was I able to learn something about DID (dissociative identity disorder), but I was also introduced to one extremely kickass author - Alyssa Cole - whose other works I shall be searching for.

Kenetria Nash was hoping for a career as a historical preservationist. That is until a breakdown and a simple diagnosis shattered her life and dreams. Ken suffers from DID, Disassociative Identity Disorder. A rather fascinating disorder that had me falling into the black hole of the internet for hours as I learned about it. As it is with most disorders, life went on, although Ken vanished into the inner realms of her mind and let one of the ‘alters’ front for her. That is, a different identity led life for everyone within. 

When Ken suddenly finds herself back ‘in front’ after a six year ‘hiatus’, she is about to embark on what sounds like a wonderful adventure. Perhaps a second chance to make her dreams come true, which one of the alters had found a way to set up. A job as the caretaker of the historic home on the isolated Kavanaugh island in the Hudson River. Determined not to ruin what could be the opportunity of a lifetime, Ken speaks very little and listens much. 

She should have listened to her gut when it didn’t want to board the little boat taking her to the island. After all it did sound far too good to be true. With the help of the groundskeeper, Celeste, Ken is able to survive the first night. A night which apparently kills people. There’s numerous tales of goblins, ghosts and witches and death. Enough to arouse Ken’s interest and make her wonder just what she is stepping into.

A nor’easter blows in just as the home’s conservation trust comes to visit the island. Ken finds herself well and truly trapped on the supposedly haunted little island with a group of people who may well be dangerous, the leaders of which are faces from her past. The only person who could possibly be on her side is Celeste. Twisted tales of historical events blended with bloodlines and equally twisted minds set Ken and her alters on edge. They must actually find a way to come together and save themselves from the deadly ending that is closing in on them, both in the inner world and the outer world. 

I would love to say that I just couldn't put this novel down, but exhaustion from work and life had me reading in fits and spurts. However, IF l'd had a choice, it would have been a binge/marathon read!

This is a dark thriller and a mystery, with a very light sprinkle of romance. A tale whose very existence will haunt the darker corners of your imagination!

Alyssa Cole

William Morrow 2024

Harper Collins Publishing 

The Wicker Witch by Cheryl Low

 

 

Charlotte Crowe and best friend Rebecca Greenleigh were born and raised on the mountain, their ancestors having carved out an existence and built the town of Wicker within its stony embrace.

 

There had been a dreadful price to be paid all those generations ago. A price whose gruesome details had been all but forgotten. A price which hadn’t been kept up and was now overdue. An evil has now begun to walk the mountain. A relentlessly savage darkness which calls the mountain its own. An evil which has no interest in sharing what it claims to have created.

 

Charlotte and Rebecca are in for the battle of their lives if they are to have any hope of saving their loved ones, themselves or their beloved mountain home. How can they have any hope of defeating the seemingly invulnerable.

 

The characters are so well written they might well be living and breathing. Their families, friends and the town folk all come into play. More and more of them is revealed every time they pass through the pages, fighting to survive and escape the grasp of the Wicker Witch.

 

There is not one wasted word in this enthralling tale, each and every one feeding into a well-plotted culmination of adrenaline and terror.

 

Be prepared! This novel will bring a torrent of emotions while the tale hurtles along at harrowing speed, weaving through sunlit glades and the darkest of forest shadows towards an unanticipated end.

 

Rarely do I give 5 stars, but this is definitely one of the deserving. I could NOT put it down!

Crystal Lake Publishing