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A review by aayushimybookishbanter
Monstrous Souls by Rebecca Kelly
4.0
Monstrous Souls is a dark, intense, emotional and gripping debut by Rebecca Kelly. It is disturbing and terrorizing and unputdownable in equal measures.
The plot alternates between two timelines (2001 and 2016) and three PoVs. From the very first page, there was palpable tension and fear in the plot, a knowledge that something horrific has taken place. As expected, the major plot twists surface in the second half of the book, but the first half is equally addictive owing to clever writing that beautifully recreates the horror and fear that Heidi feels.
It is quite commendable that Kelly has managed to create such strong characters and relationships even in a mystery/thriller, where the characters are usually secondary to the plot. The friendship of Nina and Heidi and the way it evolved with the knowledge of secret too dark and heavy for any 13-year olds made me heart break a little. The character of Denise (the detective who investigates the case) is very relatable as she is trying hard to keep her emotions of horror and pain under check and striving on to uncover the truth. Even the unknown stalker of Heidi is given a deep and dark layer of personality, one that makes you feel revolted and sympathetic towards him at the same time.
The plot is tightly written and maintains its pace and tension throughout. Even at times when there are no major plot twists, the emotional aspect of the story is played up to keep the reader interested. The sensitive topics of child abuse and neglect are handled maturely and evoke a deep sadness in the reader. The writing is just the right amount of descriptive without the extra “padding”, which made me actually feel the pain, horror, sadness, guilt, fear and angst of the characters.
The only thing that bugged me slightly was that the PoV of Heidi is written in first person, whereas the other two are written in third person. I’m not sure if this was intended or an oversight, but it did confuse me at times and made me do a double take to understand whom was the chapter talking about.
The plot alternates between two timelines (2001 and 2016) and three PoVs. From the very first page, there was palpable tension and fear in the plot, a knowledge that something horrific has taken place. As expected, the major plot twists surface in the second half of the book, but the first half is equally addictive owing to clever writing that beautifully recreates the horror and fear that Heidi feels.
It is quite commendable that Kelly has managed to create such strong characters and relationships even in a mystery/thriller, where the characters are usually secondary to the plot. The friendship of Nina and Heidi and the way it evolved with the knowledge of secret too dark and heavy for any 13-year olds made me heart break a little. The character of Denise (the detective who investigates the case) is very relatable as she is trying hard to keep her emotions of horror and pain under check and striving on to uncover the truth. Even the unknown stalker of Heidi is given a deep and dark layer of personality, one that makes you feel revolted and sympathetic towards him at the same time.
The plot is tightly written and maintains its pace and tension throughout. Even at times when there are no major plot twists, the emotional aspect of the story is played up to keep the reader interested. The sensitive topics of child abuse and neglect are handled maturely and evoke a deep sadness in the reader. The writing is just the right amount of descriptive without the extra “padding”, which made me actually feel the pain, horror, sadness, guilt, fear and angst of the characters.
The only thing that bugged me slightly was that the PoV of Heidi is written in first person, whereas the other two are written in third person. I’m not sure if this was intended or an oversight, but it did confuse me at times and made me do a double take to understand whom was the chapter talking about.