With thanks to Lume Books for my gifted copy, its a pleasure to be on the tour for this read.
Hypnotising the plot:
Annabelle seems to have it all. The perfect house, a successful husband, a darling son. But Annabelle is troubled.
Trapped in an unhappy marriage, failing at motherhood, and at odds with her new privileged lifestyle, Annabelle begins to self-harm, a habit resurrected from her traumatic past.
When she meets the alluring and charismatic hypnotherapist Cassandra Rose, she is offered a way out.
Through hypnosis, Annabelle is encouraged to unearth her painful repressed memories and face her childhood demons. But as the boundaries between her hypnotic trance and reality begin to dissolve, Annabelle becomes increasingly vulnerable to much darker forces.
Filled with twists and suspense, The Call of Cassandra Rose is a chilling thriller that examines how trauma shapes our lives and asks whether we can ever really escape our pasts.
SEVERE Trigger warning- self harm.
Bobs and Books honest review:
Ooh it takes a special kind of read to make me really want to scream at the page to stop them doing something. But that is want I had from this read. I won't say anymore as no spoilers here.
The first half was real page turner- where is this going, who can be trusted, how reliable was our Annabelle? So many questions where I needed to know the answer immediately,
This gave me Big Little Lies vibes with the mums at the school and makes for deliciously uncomfortable reading. I also totally got the turning 30 theme- was this contributing to the turmoil?
I did predict the ending, but that didn't spoil its enjoyment for me.
About the author:
A Londoner of proud Italian and Greek heritage, Sophia Spiers grew up on the Lisson Green Council Estate, which informed the depiction of her protagonist’s childhood. She studied Film at university, and in her twenties and early thirties worked in TV and post-production before turning her attention to her true passion: writing. Sophia was one of the six outstanding mentees chosen from over 1500 entrants to be part of the inaugural Madeleine Milburn mentorship scheme, and has been honing her craft ever since.
Out now