I was offered a complimentary copy of Spiral by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
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About the Book
Spiral
by Khaled Talib
Published 22 December 2020
World Castle Publishing, LLC
Genre: Thriller
Page Count: 290
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Laurence Turner, a pharmacist from Sydney, is wracked with guilt after his fiancé dies on a sailing trip. The tragedy is followed by yet another fatal incident when he dispenses the wrong medication to a customer.
Laurence moves to the Clare Valley in South Australia for a fresh start, but when he stumbles across the dead body of a visiting American reporter, things take a turn for the worst.
The case explodes into far more than Laurence could ever expect with the arrival of a beautiful American woman, Skyler Hawthorne. Her troubles put Laurence in the path of both domestic and foreign agents, including a dangerous Russian spy who believes Laurence is hiding a secret.
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My Review
My Rating: 4 Stars
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Spiral is a fast paced thriller set in Australia, which was one of the first things that really caught my attention about this book. I don’t know why, but up here in Canada I rarely find thrillers set in Australia. They’re usually in the southern states of the USA, like Georgia. (Why? I don’t even know.) When they’re not they’re some place really cold, like Scandinavia or Russia. Australia? New territory to me when it comes to thriller settings!
I love the use of odd and interesting language in this book, like coddiwomple (which means “To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.”) I shall add that to my list of obscure words to pull out right under widdershins.
In terms of the thriller aspect of the novel, it’s absolutely gripping! This is definitely a solid thriller plot that will have you on the edge of your seat, refusing to put the book down long after bedtime because you just have to know. If my review were solely on the plot, this would be a 5 star book, hands down, no questions asked. My review and rating reflect the entire book, however, and I found that I wasn’t main character Laurence’s biggest fan for more than a few pages at the beginning. He wasn’t unlikable, but I didn’t immediately connect with him, and it’s hard to care about a character’s plight when you haven’t connected yet. He grew on me, though, and by the end I was all-in!
About the Author
If I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing. Most of my books are inspired by the places I’ve visited around the world. Who knows? You could be sitting at a cafe and I might notice you and think you’d be a good character for my next story.
I observe people, watch their mannerisms, and what they wear. Occasionally, I might pick up a line from a conversation to use in my next story. There’s nothing like telling a good story.
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