Look Behind You by Sibel Hodge
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Waking up and surrounded by an eerie darkness, Chloe Benson soon discovers she's trapped underground in what appears to be someone's tomb. Desperate to avoid the same fate as the skeleton in her midst, she musters all the strength she can to escape, however emerging back into her ordinary life proves to be just as dangerous. Someone wants her dead, yet due to issues with her memory, she just can't recall who.

(WARNING: this review contains minor spoilers.)

I finished this book last year, October (2016) to be specific, and didn't feel overly eager to voice my thoughts upon its completion, so suffice it to say; it's been a long time coming in that regard. You might wonder how I could possibly still remember the finer details, and indeed; my memory's not exactly fresh, however I can still recall what irked and disappointed me, as well as what stemmed the little amount of enjoyment. That being said, I had wanted to read something a little different than my usual flavours, and this one was ready and waiting in my library. What did I expect? Well, a mystery, of course - something that kept me guessing, kept the wheels of my mind turning. It was unfortunate that it promptly fell short, and the conundrum didn't require much thought at all; the identity of the "villain" was clear pretty much immediately. There were several moments I questioned; "Could it be this obvious?" and lo and behold, it was exactly that.

Admittedly though, the beginning drew me in, and I sincerely believed the rest would've thus followed its strong onset. A woman, trapped underground in complete darkness; the narrative truly expressed her helplessness and her will to survive. From there, it morphed into something not-so-thrilling, and it felt much like a long wait for it (or rather, Chloe) to reach the conclusion I already knew was coming. Thankfully the book wasn't that long, so I was able to force myself through the boredom without it becoming too much of a chore.

The character of Chloe was rather unmemorable, as despite how hard I try, I can't say much about her. I always like to take the time to analyse the main protagonist, but the sheer lack of impression was even worse than disliking her, because at least then she would've made me feel something. The same goes for the rest of them - the domineering husband, the too-perfect other man; none of them had much personality, besides being convenient to the plot. One thing that I did find outrageous however, was the general attitudes of the authorities. Both the police and hospital staff were unrealistic, in that they were outright rude to a patient they believed to be mentally ill. At least in the real word, such cold treatment has the possibility to distress the patient further, thus I highly doubt the "shut up, you're crazy" tactic is actually applied.

In conclusion: Have I mentioned how utterly apparent the "twist" was? Well, I'm saying it again - a mystery should have mystery. It should keep you guessing until the truth's finally unveiled. This was largely a disappointing read for me.

Notable Quote:

Why does anyone stay in a relationship that deep down they know isn’t right? You don’t know why until it happens to you. It’s easy to fool yourself. To stuff things under the surface where they can’t hurt you. To persuade yourself it’s all just normal. Make excuses. There’s a fine line between craziness and love.

© Red Lace 2017

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By: Sibel Hodge
ASIN: B01GHALZ8M
Publisher: Wonder Woman
Publication Date: 7/18/2016 
Format: e-book 
My Rating: 5 Stars 

A special thank you to Wonder Women Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Talented author, Sibel Hodge returns following the suspenseful Where the Memories Lie (2015), with the highly-charged, psychological thriller, UNTOUCHABLE .

A highly emotional book of child abuse, murder, torture, and rape. The hi-profile, officials, influential men- the rich and powerful misuse their authority in unspeakable ways. The sadistic. A child abuse ring.

Well-researched, inspired by true allegations involving deep-rooted historical, institutional, and international child abuse allegations, including murder and pedophiles.

The Big House “There is something so very dreadful, so satanic in tormenting those who have never harmed us, and who cannot defend themselves, who are utterly in our power, who have weapons neither of offense nor defense, that none but very hardened persons can endure the thought of it.”— Cardinal John Henry Newman

Compelling, dark, and chilling.

Maya and boyfriend Jamie are approaching their second anniversary. Jamie does not show. They had been looking forward to a pleasant evening to celebrate. Instead, Maya is greeted by the police, delivering the devastating news. He has hanged himself in the nearby woods near Tyttenhanger.

How? Why? Maya is shocked, full of horror since he is not the type to commit suicide. After all, they had just discussed their evening plans that morning. Surely someone has made a mistake. Did someone steal his wallet?

His parents had died years ago and he had no family. Had she missed the signs? She was looking forward to an anniversary surprise. She knows he loved her. Now he is dead.

The author takes us back to Jamie. The real story. Not the childhood he had made up. The lying. The relationships. His mistrust. Hard to handle emotions. Damaged. He craved love and closeness, but pushed it away, never staying with a woman more than a few months. He was a loner. He did not need anyone. Or so he thought until Maya came into his life.

With her the attraction was instant. She was so full of life. Energetic, bubbly. She brought him back to life again. He fell in love. He wanted to confide in her but he couldn’t handle the thought she would leave him. He had imagined her looking at him with disgust and revulsion and he knew he could never tell her.

He thought he was safe from the past. Safe with his new life with Maya. His job. His home. However, he was invaded and he was no longer safe.

He saw it on the news. The memories had hit like the powerful force. Now a children’s minister, in charge of protecting the vulnerable and innocent, keeping them safe, looking after their welfare. Nothing was more abhorrent or unjust. The evil excuse for a man. He prayed on the weak. A Member of Parliament.

The dark memories of a terrified boy. He could not stay silent any longer. He would record everything to get it straight in his head. He was now a man who had fought to survive. He was going to finally tell his story.

From Maya's investigation into the death of Jamie. To make sense of everything that has happened to the man she loved. Something wasn’t right. Maya was determined to find out what it was that led Jamie to his death.

The life of Jamie is slowly unraveled from six years old, a family gone. A Children’s Home, social workers. Alone and scared, grieving. Neglected, forgotten children. He could not trust anyone. He was trapped, and no one to talk to or nowhere to run.

His life was a prison. The only thing he had done wrong was to be born. Control, evil. No one would stop them. They were untouchable. The degrading acts. The screams unheard. Drugs, rape, abuse. The killing. The parties. Torture. Authorities. No one could be trusted. Political power.

Maya finds a list of names. What did it all mean? He did not love her enough to stay? What was he mixed up in and what secrets had he been hiding?

Her suspicion grows and her personal investigation leads her to a children’s home called “The Big House” where child sex abuse is commonplace. Maya wants to reveal the truth, but the people involved want to keep it a secret. She had recalled this name and his horrible dreams.

Whatever Jamie had been doing before he died had got him killed. Murdered. Why a murder made to look like a suicide? The same kind of person who would make a child disappear.A diary.

Someone had a very important secret to hide. Whatever secret Jamie had been hiding would be buried with him, unless she can figure it out. A letter from Mitchell, a name she had not heard from Jamie. Can she open this can of worms? She could be putting herself in danger.

Who had gone great lengths to kill Jamie and cover up things James could expose. Jamie had lied about his past. He had hidden the truth because he could not bear to speak of it.

She would have loved him anyway, despite it all. She was angry. People had stolen Jamie’s childhood and his life to shut him up. His death could not: "be for nothing". She had to expose them. Justice. Revenge. (Loved her tenacity)!

"My silence is not weakness but the beginning of my revenge." - Author Unknown

From the physical and mental effects on survivors, the quashed investigations, inquiries, cover-ups, and lack of prosecutions, insanely light sentencing, and a low number of convictions for offenders – mind-blowing devastating, and heartbreaking. The truth is revealed. The author exposes all the dirty evil.

I love Whistle-blower stories! Something thrilling about uncovering corruption of any kind.

Hodge raises awareness of child abuse, by putting it out there versus staying silent, “making child abuse taboo takes the power away from survivors and gives it to the perpetrators.” Silence and denial make the vulnerable even more voiceless.

She is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects which need to be addressed and brought front and center. With a blending of fact and fiction, a chilling psychological suspense thriller of secrets and abuse. An amazing storyteller!

Be sure and add Sibel's upcoming book, Duplicity, coming Dec. 27, 2016. Definitely on my list!

JDCMustReadBooks

Not quite a 4 star rating - 3 1/2. Olivia's best friend (Katie) runs away over 20 years ago and no one ever hears from her again. Father-in-law Tom is in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's and confesses to a terrible deed. From that point on there is no stopping Olivia as she is like a missile intent on finding out what happened to Katie. I liked the story, the way it was written, how you were led to think different things at various times, but it was a bit too long with lots of unnecessary domestic trivia. Olivia was meddlesome, irritating with her assumption that she was always right. If she was so concerned about Katie why didn't she start looking a lot earlier! Plus she often treated her 12 year old daughter as if she were about 5 years old. I liked this book enough to try others by this author.