Review by michelles_book_nook - The Wilds

michelles_book_nook 's review for:

The Wilds by Sarah Pearse

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

⚠️ CW: murder, childhood trauma, domestic abuse, stalking, suicide, mentions of self harm ⚠️ If you're looking for a read that is filled with twists and turns then this one is for you! After the dark events that scarred her childhood, Kier Templer, escaped her hometown and her twin to live her life on the road. They've never lost contact until, on a trip to a Portuguese national park, Kier vanishes without a trace. Detective Elin Warner arrives in the same park ready to immerse herself in its vast wilderness, only to hear about Kier's disappearance, and discover a disturbing map she left behind. The few strangers at the isolated camp close ranks against her questions, and the park's wild beauty starts to turn sinister. Elin must untangle the clues to find out what really happened to Kier, but when you follow a trail you have to be careful to watch your back. This book was so intensely addictive that I couldn't stop thinking about it when I forced myself to take breaks. If you've read anything by Sarah Pearse before then you know she has an amazing way of unravelling stories and looking at deeper psychological relationships within her characters, and it's safe to say she out did herself with this one in my opinion. It was so atmospheric and tense throughout, and my favourite part is how she dissects the volatile and complex relationships to really make you think about things which for this book were the themes around generational trauma and breaking cycles. Overall, I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read more in the future from Sarah Pearse!

Content Warnings