by Allie Reynolds
SYNOPSIS
There's a darkness inside all of us and The Bay has a way of bringing it out.
Everyone here has their secrets but we don't go looking for them.
Because sometimes it's better not to know.
Kenna arrives in Sydney to surprise her best friend, shocked to hear she's going to marry a guy she's only just met. But Mikki and her fiancé Jack are about to head away on a trip, so Kenna finds herself tagging along for the ride.
Sorrow Bay is beautiful, wild and dangerous. A remote surfing spot with waves to die for, cut off from the rest of the world. Here Kenna meets the mysterious group of people who will do anything to keep their paradise a secret. Sky, Ryan, Clemente and Victor have come to ride the waves and disappear from life. How will they feel about Kenna turning up unannounced?
As Kenna gets drawn into their world, she sees the extremes they are prepared to go to for the next thrill. And everyone seems to be hiding something. What has her best friend got involved in and how can she get her away? But one thing is rapidly becoming clear about The Bay: nobody ever leaves.
REVIEW
Kenna decides to make the long trip to Australia to visit her best friend Mikki. After the death of her boyfriend, Kenna had distanced herself from Mikki and her former love of surfing but wants to reach out to her after finding out that she is due to get married after such a short time with her partner Jack. Sensing that things are not quite right with the situation, Kenna wants to give Mikki the chance to explain what is really going on.
After arriving, Kenna is invited to join the pair as they go to meet their group of friends in a remote and secretive surfing spot they have claimed as their own, and it soon becomes clear that it is not just Mikki who is behaving strangely. Everyone in this group seems to be hiding something and their self-appointed leader Sky is determined to keep Kenna from finding out the truth. Kenna starts to uncover the fact that underneath the relaxed atmosphere of Sorrow Bay lies a tense and complicated web of lies, toxic relationships, secrets and even murder.
The Bay is a perfect example of a summer thriller. I was completely transported to Sorrow Bay and the gorgeous Australian coast with this mix of suspicious characters. I can't say that I particularly liked any of the group, but I always find that this is part of the charm with thriller novels where you can't quite trust anyone and you are never quite sure who the villain is as the story develops. I have no surfing background whatsoever, so I can't comment on that aspect of the story, but the tense and claustrophobic atmosphere created was spot on as the so-called friends started turning on each other. The plot was interesting and did a great job of concealing what really happened until everything started to unravel right at the end.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allie Reynolds' debut thriller SHIVER is about a small group of former snowboarder friends at an isolated mountaintop reunion, high in the French Alps. SHIVER has sold in 24 territories to date and will be translated into 23 languages. The TV option has sold to Firebird Pictures. Her second thriller THE BAY is set on a remote Australian beach.
Born and raised in Lincoln, England, Allie moved to Gold Coast, Australia in 2004. She lives near the beach with her two young boys. Many years ago she competed at snowboard halfpipe. She spent five winters in the mountains of France, Switzerland, Austria and Canada. These days she sticks to surfing - water doesn't hurt as much as ice when you fall on it.
You can find her on:
Thanks to Anne Cater @RandomTTours, Headline Books @headlinepg and Allie Reynolds @AuthorAllieR for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Thriller / Psychological Thriller
ISBN: 978-1472270276
Pages: 416pp
Comments