by Sam Ripley
SYNOPSIS
That’s the one.
That’s the girl who’s going to die.
I didn’t believe in the Rule of Three. Not at first.
It was just one of those urban myths you hear about all the time.
A story my boyfriend told me about a girl cursed by the number three.
A girl whose parents had killed themselves after her sibling had died in an accident.
Which meant that she was doomed to die too because that’s the Rule of Three.
Bad things always happen in threes, they say, and they are right.
Because it’s happening again.
But this time the curse is coming for me.
And worst of all?
It’s coming for you, too.
REVIEW
The Rule Of Three is a novel told in three parts. With several years between them, Amy, Ila and Eve are each affected by a story told to them of an Urban Legend based around the idea that bad things happen in three's. These girls are all dealing with personal tragedies, some more successfully than others, but they are all intelligent, normal girls who wouldn't usually believe in this type of hearsay. But none of the three can deny that there are real similarities to their own circumstances, and the more they research, the more convinced they each become that the legend is in fact real. Three deaths, three years apart, all affecting the same family - and Amy, Ila and Eve will be the third victims unless they can work out how to stop it in time.
I am such a huge fan of Meta Fiction, I think it adds such an interesting element to stories and it worked perfectly here in The Rule Of Three. Told through journal entries from the three main characters, they break the fourth wall and speak to the reader as the journals were written as a warning of what might be coming if they were unable to stop the curse from killing them too. I have't read anything else like this book - I know that there have been comparisons to C.J. Tudor and Alex North and there are similarities with these authors writing in the 'Horror Thriller' sub-genre, but The Rule Of Three is completely unique.
If you are in any doubt as to whether or not you will enjoy this style you only need to read the first chapter. That is how you open a book - it's so strong and sets the tone for everything else to come. Reading this book was like revisiting the classic horror films of the late 90s / early 2000s in novel form. It felt a bit like Urban Legend meets Final Destination and that's absolutely fine by me because that's me in my element! Having said that I really loved the subtle changes as the approximately twenty years progressed through each section - starting with Amy who saw her new style mobile phone as a complete novelty, all the way through to a more up to date setting with Eve who uses the flashlight app on her mobile to light the way through the abandoned hospital. Fantastic attention to detail.
If you're looking for a creepy book which plays on your mind after reading, look no further!
Thanks to Anne Cater @RandomTTours Simon Schuster @simonschusterUK and Sam Ripley @SamRipleyBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Genre: Horror Thriller / Psychological Thriller / Contemporary Horror
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
ISBN: 978-1398514973
Pages: 432pp
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