Dziesięć dni

by Mel Sherratt

Kobiety znikają z ulic. Dziesięć dni później zostają odnalezione. Ostatniej, czwartej kobiety nie udało się uwolnić. Eva, dziennikarka, która relacjonowała tę historię nie zdaje sobie sprawy, że będzie kolejną ofiarą zniknięcia… Czy jej mroczny sekret pomoże Evie w uwolnieniu?
„- Jest tam kto?! - krzyknęła Eva, waląc pięściami w drzwi. - Halo! Proszę mnie stąd wypuścić! Słyszy mnie ktoś?!
Wołała tak i bębniła rękami, dopóki ją rozbolały. Ze szlochem osunęła się na podłogę, przyciągnęła kolana do piersi i objęła je ramionami. Zadrżała, z zimna i ze strachu. W głowie miała istną gonitwę myśli. Jakim cudem się tutaj znalazła? Z kim się dzisiaj widziała? A może wczoraj? Jaki właściwie jest dzień? Dokąd się wybierała?”
„Sherratt tworzy złożony, psychologicznie intrygujący portret czarnego charakteru, który nie pozwala oderwać się od czytania” Lisa Regan
„Dziesięć dni to thriller psychologiczny, który pozostanie z Tobą na długo po przeczytaniu ostatniej strony” Caroline Mitchell

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook, Psychological Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Suspense

328 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2021

About the author

I write police procedurals, psychological suspense and women's fiction with a punch - or grit-lit, as I call it.

I live in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with my husband and terrier, Dexter (named after the TV serial killer) and makes liberal use of my hometown as a backdrop for some of my books.

You can find out more at my website www.melsherratt.co.uk or I'm on Twitter at @writermels

I also write women's fiction under the pen name of Marcie Steele.

Reviews

[ReadAlongWithSue recovering from a stroke★⋆. ࿐࿔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twitter |
Goodreads |
Blog |
Instagram |

Did Mel Sherratt pull of another psychological thriller? You bet she did.

I’m so glad I can still read this authors books. I love her romance/contemporary books and now veering into the thriller types I love.

I love her DI series but I was burnt out on that genre so shelved any DI crime series in mostly all authors.
But now I’ve enjoyed one of my favourite authors books again. That’s twice in a month, yippee.

The plot in this story is very good, and I would have never guessed what was revealed.

The main culprit was very well done and nasty but I found myself also understanding them yet hating what they did.

I can’t imagine the life they experienced and I can’t imagine being locked up either with just one small bit of food per day (if you’re lucky) and no one to speak to.


How did this affect me?
My reading never wavered. I was stuck like glue each evening I could read more.
I do hope she continues to write more in this genre I’d be the first to pick it up!

[Alex.andthebooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75 ⭐️

Na początku byłam zaintrygowana, ale później zabrakło mi emocji, solidnych podstaw portretów psychologicznych postaci i wartkiej akcji.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Mel Sherratt’s different police procedural series. But this psychological thriller came across as dull and lackluster. Not bad, just lacking in any real suspense or tension. The plot concerns women who are kidnapped and held for 10 days. The last of the women taken is a reporter who has written about the previous four women. The chapters alternate between Eva, the reporter and Alex, the kidnapper. Eva’s newspaper articles are included along with the earlier lives of both individuals. So, we understand Alex’s back history. But Alex never came across as believable, instead as a caricature of a psycho.
This has a lot of high ratings so I am definitely in the minority.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

[Olga Kowalska (WielkiBuk) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Z jednej strony, „Dziesięć dni” jest thrillerem, powieścią rozrywkową, niosącą frajdę spragnionemu dobrej zabawy czytelnikowi. Z drugiej zaś strony, to opowieść o przemocy tak niepojętej, a która osadza się w żyłach, we krwi, która staje się częścią osobowości ofiary. To opowieść o otchłani ludzkiej duszy, o ciemnych zakamarkach, w których czasami można dostrzec impuls mglistego światełka. Światełka, które nie niesie jednak nadziei, ale jest niczym drapieżna pułapka, wciąga głębiej w ciemność, buduje iluzje i skrzywia rzeczywistość. Doprowadza skołowany umysł do granic wytrzymałości, a wtedy wystarczy jedna iskra, by szaleństwo ruszyło z kopyta. Mamy szansę podejrzeć takiego człowieka, kogoś, kto skrzywdzony w przeszłości, teraz nie potrafi inaczej żyć, jak krzywdząc innych wokół siebie.

„Dziesięć dni” to jedna z tych powieści, które wywołają skrajne emocje w czytelniku. Porusza tematy drażniące i prowokujące do dyskusji. I nic dziwnego, że książka stała się bestsellerem – ma wszystko to, by bestsellerem się stać i jak bestseller może budzić dysonans w odczuciach czytelnika. Dla jednych będzie to odkrycie roku, jedna z powieści szokujących, trudnych emocjonalnie, pobudzających wyobraźnię. Dla innych może okazać się przewidywalna, nieco uproszczona, a twist wcale nie tak zaskakujący. Wszystko zależy właśnie od czytelnika, od tego w jaki sposób podejdzie do opowieści. Mel Sherratt wodzi nas za nos, podrzuca mylne tropy, ukrywa podpowiedzi, jednak podpowiada wciąż w taki sposób, że można samemu odkryć jakże satysfakcjonującą prawdę. Miłośnicy thrillerów psychologicznych z twistem powinni być zadowoleni.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another addictive psychological thriller by author Mel Sherratt that will keep you up all night wanting to finish it. A dark gritty novel with lots of twists and turns and great characters.

The local journalist Eva is covering the story of a number of cases of women disappearing only to turn up again ten days later. The women reappear worse for wear but alive to tell the story. Eva’s nightmare begins when she wakes up in a room that is as described by the released women she has interviewed following their ordeals. A small hole in the door, a mattress and a little light allowed through the window. Stripped of her personal possessions and wearing someone else’s clothes.

Only a few days earlier Eva had interviewed the third victim for the local paper and had heard much of what she was now witnessing first hand. Throughout all the victims ordeals the abductor remained silent, offering no explanation and now it was Eva’s turn to suffer.

This is a step up from the authors previous novels which I also enjoyed, very good psychological thriller.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invisible Victim is a tense and twisty psychological thriller in which the hunter becomes the hunted. In Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Eva Farmer, an investigative journalist and senior news reporter for Stoke News is working on an article about three women who were abducted by an unidentified man but were released after ten days and a fourth, policewoman Jillian Bradshaw, who was then but never seen again. The first abduction took place on 10 January 2019 when 36-year-old Stephanie Harvey, a mother of two twin 7-year-old boys, went missing from a college car park where she had been attending a seminar. She was kept in a dark room with a narrow chink of light being the only view of the outside world. She was beaten, given little food or drink and given a bucket in the corner to relieve herself. The kidnapper never spoke a word to her while she was in captivity and there was no rhyme or reason as to why she had been targeted or why she was released and dropped in the middle of a street with limited CCTV during the night.

Next to be abducted was 66-year-old Maxine Stallington followed by 39-year-old Alison Green. Eva interviews these women but none of them know who took them. And then Eva finds herself in the cellar she has heard the description of from the survivors many times and instantly knows she's the fifth victim. This is a compulsive, gritty and thought-provoking thriller with several interesting twists and red herrings to throw you off the scent. It focuses on the relationship between abductors and abductees and raises questions as to whether you are born evil or become evil through your environment - nature v nurture. It's a palpably tense read told in alternating chapters from Eva and abductor Alex’s perspectives. Sherratt has a superb, flowing writing style and this allows you to become immersed easily and be completely gripped. There's all the suspense, drama and excitement needed to create a thoroughly entertaining thriller but it also features emotional parts which elevate this story from normal, run of the mill crime fiction. Highly recommended.

[Yvonne G · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You thought you’d escaped your past”

Oh my goodness! Which middle earth cave have I just emerged from, that I have not heard about this author before?

When I first began reading, it became apparent that much of the premise was already known and being freely shared with me, so my initial reaction was how could this storyline provide enough oomph! as a thriller. Surely it would have been more suited being classified as a suspense novel? Then Bam! I was hit full force between the eyes and this full-throttle, psychological thriller took a grip of me body and soul, not letting go until the very last page, when I was spat out, a completely broken nervous wreck after being constantly kept on the edge of my seat and having my emotions played one way then another, by just about everyone involved in the telling of this story.

Those opening lines which had already taken my breath away, were only a brief teaser taster and held no real indication of what was to come once the palpable tension had really begun to be ratchetted up and the storyline gathered momentum. The ending was satisfying in that the body count had been kept to a minimum and the perpetrator was incarcerated in a suitable fashion, however everyone left alive and standing was traumatised and broken, each in their own way now being left to battle their own, long supressed, but reawakened demons. This was one outcome that I wouldn’t ever rely on as being ‘final’ and if I was Eva, I would always be looking over my shoulder – after all, Alex was not the only one with secrets to hide!

The chapters are quite short and concise, although they do jot back and forth quite a lot between timelines and narrators. However as soon as I realised whose voice I was hearing and I worked out which timeline I was in, the signposting styling became clearer and the sequencing was relatively easy to follow, with some highly perceptive and punchy narrative and dialogue keeping the pace steady and the storyline fluid.

This multi-layered story, was well structured, highly textured, and ultra intense. Author Mell Sherratt, definitely had plans for how she wanted my journey to progress whilst I was reading, adroitly dropping in so many little bombshells and weaving so many devious twists and turns into the plot, which maintained the constant wow! factor, to ensure that I never deviated from that path. Although I have to come clean and admit that I had worked out one of the most important game-changing factors to emerge about a third of the way in, and only just before it was revealed – but they all count to my way of thinking!

A very difficult and disturbing subject, was treated with gripping and compelling realism, and told with assured authority, raw passion and complete confidence, by an author who never flinched when it came to telling things as they were in Alex’s broken, warped and damaged mind. That a system which was designed to protect, nurture and care for the most vulnerable in society, even and perhaps, especially when, such unspeakable things were happening behind closed doors, in that place which should provide a safe haven, went so horribly wrong, who is ultimately to accept responsibility for the damage caused and shoulder the blame?

Alex has had plenty of time to ponder that question over the intervening years and the decision is that everyone in the chain is equally to blame for the monster victim they have created. However the grip on reality is slowly losing the battle over a mind which has suffered so terribly, until fact and fiction, truth and lies, know no boundaries and victim becomes aggressor in the most awful of ways, as everyone involved becomes a target for their vengeful retribution.

A compulsive, devastating social commentary of our time and a richly crafted study of human behaviour, dominate this lugubrious storyline, where there are no winners, just invisible victims. So many secrets, even more lies and untruths and escaping with her sanity intact, is Eva’s best and only outcome!

The attention to detail when developing the complex characters and the loud and clear voice which they are given to tell their own story, are the defining factors in the story. When it transpires that perpetrator and captive share a similar secret, the circle is complete. How they individually choose to deal with that burden, is what separates them as victims. None of the characters are particularly likable and I found it difficult to invest in, or empathise with any of them. When it comes down to it, they all have emotional baggage, much of which has been heaped upon them by a broken, disjointed system, leaving them emotionally scarred and bruised by the battle.

They do say that ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’, although this story would probably argue a good case against that, and very much goes to prove the point that revenge is a dish that can be served up at any temperature!

To find out more about the book and author - and to share a few of those 'hidden gem' extracts from the book, visit...
https://www.fiction-books.biz/reviews...

[Louise Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Let me out! Please!" I shouted, banging on the door. How had I got here? What day was it? I couldn't remember anything. But I knew i had become the fifth woman to be abducted. Just days before, I had interviewed the third victim for the local paper. She couldn't stop shaking. Her story was the same as the ones before her: an ordinary woman, locked away for ten days then released with no explanation. Throughout her ordeal, their abductor stayed eerily silent.

This is a dark. suspenseful novel about abducting women, holding them captive for ten days then releasing them after ten days. It also tells of the effects that domestic abuse can have on the children who were often abused as well. Eva, the journalist who had interviewed the women after their release. now finds herself lock up, with no memory of how she got there. The abductor never speaks to the victims.

The story is told from the abductor and Eva's perspectives and intersperses with the story from the women who were held captive, then set free. This is a well written, twist filled read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and i couldn't put it down. I was hooked from the beginning. This is an intriguing page turner,

I would like to thank #Netgalley #Bookouture and the author #MelSherratt for my ARC of #InvisableVictim in exchange for an honest review.

[Caroline Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - what a book! So much of a book that I have a serious reading hangover. So many emotions are swirling around in my brain. Invisible Victim is a dark and gritty read. It feels a little different to Mel's previous novels, which I have also loved. Alex's point of view chapters which gave me goosebumps. It feels like the author has reinvented her style of writing and I'm loving this new fresh take. Absolutely no spoilers in this review but she totally blindsided me at that half way mark - no mean feat, believe me! There are some heart wrenching chapters as you are granted insights into the character's lives. Invisible Victim is a psychological thriller that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐

Pracując jako dziennikarka, Eva opisała historie czterech porwanych kobiet. Nikt nie wie, dlaczego zostały uprowadzone, kto to zrobił, ani co je łączy, poza tym, że trzy z nich zostały wypuszczone po dziesięciu dniach. Teraz to Eva staje się piątą ofiarą.

Naprawdę uwielbiam sięgać po nowych autorów, nie mając o nic zbytniego pojęcia, bo nigdy nie wiem, czym mnie zaskoczą. Tym bardziej, jeśli autor serwuje mi thriller psychologiczny. I choć od jakiegoś czasu z gatunkiem się trochę mijamy, naprawdę fajnie jest wrócić. Od razu zaznaczę, że nie nie jest to ten typ książki, w której na każdym zakręcie dostajemy taką dawkę napięcia, że trudno usiedzieć w miejscu, a przynajmniej ja tego tak nie odczułam. Mieliśmy wzloty i upadki, było kilka takich momentów, kiedy napięcie siadło, ale generalnie nie narzekam i zaangażowałam się w tą historię.

Od początku trochę wiemy - kobiety zostają wypuszczone po dziesięciu dniach, są przetrzymywane w zamkniętym pomieszczeniu, upokorzone i niewiele pamiętają. Wraz z Evą przeżywamy każdy dzień po kolei i to właśnie tutaj tkwi największe napięcie. To thriller, który wymusza na nas pytania i szukanie odpowiedzi. Czy Eva się załamie? Czy przeżyje? Jak wpłynie na nią odizolowanie, cisza, brak kontaktu z drugim człowiekiem? I przede wszystkim to najważniejsze pytanie - czy po upływie dziesięciu dni wyjdzie na wolność?

Trochę zawiodło mnie zakończenie, nie jest złe, ale chyba spodziewałam się większego wow. Jest trochę otwarte, jakby autorka zostawiała sobie furtkę, a szczerze mówiąc, ewentualna kontynuacja mogłaby być ciekawa... Postać porywacza jest okrutnie ciekawa i ciężko nie zadać sobie pytania, ile winy w tym wszystkim jest otoczenia, a ile zaburzeń i złego osądu. Wyszło naprawdę spoko!

[współpraca z Labreto <3]

[Julie Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book from Mel Sherratt.
Women are being abducted, held for ten days and the released naked in the middle of nowhere.
However the fourth woman who was taken has not yet appeared despite the ten days being up.
Eva is a journalist and is interviewing the victims to try and understand why this is happening.
That is until she’s the next victim and is being held in a cellar with little food and drink.
Eva knows she is being drugged and just wants the ten days to hurry up so she can get out of there, but her captor has other plans.
This is a gripping thriller and with chapters from the abductor’s point of view as well as Eva, it’s a great read.
If you like a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat then this one is for you.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a lot of thrillers. Copious amounts, really. And here’s one thing you can bet money on…if a book experiences the need to advertise its excellence past the title…in such exaggerated exclamations as heartarresting thriller of devastating proportions or whatever…it's crap and knows it and is overcompensating for it. Don’t believe me? Just read this book, it’s a shining example of it.
Straight form the lowest hanging branches of the ever blooming lady thriller tree this book, featuring an almost all female cast and the lamentably underwhelming amounts of both mystery and suspense, tells a story of abductor and abductees. The perspective alternates as you’d expect, so you get both sides. An abductor who believes themselves to have been a victim their entire life is now determined to victimize others. And (to no gasp) make them invisible. There you go, that’s the title.
There are no surprises here, not for any reasonably intelligent readers familiar with the genre. The writing is serviceable in that very plain way, but trite. In fact, that about covers this novel in its entirety, serviceable but trite in every way. The plainness of style which sometimes can be used to trick or deceive or delight (something Scandinoir specifically has mastered so well) here is just plain. In culinary jargon this is the cheap white bread and water of thrillers. It just doesn’t thrill. And leans too heavily on its estrogen makeup for comfort.
The author has done tons of these, apparently, albeit all serialized, with this being the random standalone. Interestingly enough, her career emerged following the boom in lady thrillers after 12 years of rejections, which is a sad testament to what popularity does to quality standards.
So there you go, the blandest of the bland for the least demanding of the audiences. Nothing at all special or interesting or recommendable about it, though it did have the decency to be relatively short and to read very quickly. Thanks Netgalley.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Dee Groocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eva is a journalist and has been covering the story of women who have been abducted but returned after 10 days, although one woman is still missing. When Eva is abducted, she soon realises from information the other women told her, that she has been taken by the same person.

In pain and scared, can Eva outwit her kidnapper? Will she be able to cope for the 10 days but more importantly, will she be released?

Revenge is a dish best served cold!

My goodness, what a story! This one had me gripped within minutes, an excellent psychological thriller. This story put me through a range of emotions and I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a few tears. Great characters and a well written and believable story.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Asia (zupa.czyta) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Przeczytałam tę książkę w kilka godzin! Może i nie była idealna, nie wszystko mi się w niej podobało, za to wciągnęła mnie maksymalnie!

Był taki moment, w którym stwierdziłam, że wiem, w jakim kierunku potoczy się ta historia. Wydawało mi się, że udało mi się poskładać wszystko "do kupy", a tu BAM! Plot twist taki, że klękajcie narody! Ostatnio thrillery rzadko mnie zaskakują, temu się udało! Nie mamy tutaj jakiegoś dziwacznego, nieprawdopodobnego zwrotu akcji, a mimo to kompletnie się go nie spodziewałam. Szanuję!

Przyczepię się do postaci porywacza, który więził kobiety - jedną po drugiej - w swojej piwnicy. Miałam wrażenie, że to taki przestępca-amator: jakby naoglądał się za dużo kryminałów drugiej kategorii i chciał przyszpanować i zrobić wrażenie, a tymczasem wychodziło mu to momentami nieco karykaturalnie ;) Dialogi też miejscami były nieco suche, ale przymykam na to oko, bo sama fabuła była dopracowana, a zakończenie bardzo porządne!

"Dziesięć dni" to lekki, wciągający thriller psychologiczny. Idealny, jeśli szukacie szybkiej lektury na weekend.

[Daria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐
Super wykreowany antagonista!
Pierwsza połowa książki była lepsza.
Kinda sad, bo nie było żadnego zaskoczenia na koniec, więc jeżeli chcecie jakiś thriller, który zrobi wam mindblowing to zdecydowanie to nie będzie jeden z nich.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

INVISIBLE VICTIM aka Ten Days is a standalone addictive psychological thriller by best-selling author Mel Sherratt, author of Estate, DS Allie Shenton (police procedural), Eden Berrisford Crime Thriller Series, and the DS Grace Allendale series. Invisible Victim is the sixteenth crime novel she has published.

This book Ten Days was previously titled Invisible Victim.

Her Standalone Novels Include:

Watching Over You (2014)
She Did It (2017) aka The Lies You Tell
Invisible Victim (2021) aka Ten Days
The Life She Wants (2021)

The story is about four women who are kidnapped and held for ten days. The last of the women taken is a senior news reporter, Eve who has written about the previous four women. The chapters alternate between Eva and Alex, the kidnapper. We learn about the early lives of both individuals.

Eva wakes up in a room that is as described by the released women she has interviewed after their ordeals. A small hole in the door, a mattress and a little light allowed through the window. The jewelry given to her by her loving husband is gone and she is wearing someone else’s clothes. The room is exactly as the first woman described…and now she is the fifth woman to be taken.

And through everything her adductor remained silent!

As the days pass, she can’t help thinking of the fourth victim, Jillian Bradshaw, a police officer and friend of Nicks who is still missing.

Eva will need to come to terms with a dark secret of her own that she has kept hidden.

This dark novel will keep you up late at night wanting to finish it. Lots of twists and turns and great characters with a brilliant twist.

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for my digital copy.

[Jacob Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! I’ve become a huge fan of Mel Sherratt’s work recently, so I couldn’t wait to read her latest, Invisible Victim, and it’s such an incredible read. If you’re looking for a thriller that is chilling and will keep you utterly gripped right the way through, then I highly recommend it.

In Stoke on Trent, women have been disappearing off the streets and have been found ten days after they first went missing. The police can’t work out who is doing this and why. Are more women going to be taken?

Mel Sherratt delves into the psychology of her characters in her latest book. This is the part of the plot which I really loved. She explores just what made them into the person they are today. This is what I found really fascinating. It also made me think more about the person and their motives. This is especially the case when it comes down to the person who is responsible for the crimes. This is where it becomes so had to talk about the plot without giving any of it away.

The woman at the centre of the story is Eva, a journalist who has become the latest victim of the perpetrator whose crimes she has been reporting on. I felt her fear as she was being held captive and as she wondered who it was who was keeping her prisoner. Although Eva believes that she will be released after ten days like the other women and clings to this, this is not guaranteed. When we are first introduced to the person behind the kidnappings, you can see that their next moves are totally unpredictable. Eva, herself, begins to realise this as well, which heightens the tension all the more. I was desperate to know what was going to happen.

Invisible Victim is such a good read and a top notch psychological thriller. This is one of Mel Sherratt’s best books to date!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mel Sheratt is an author who has written books in a few different genres and she excels in them all.

Ten Days introduces us to Eva, a local journalist who is married to Nick, who is in the police force. The title comes into play as the victims in the story are abducted for 10 days and then released. Only problem is that they don't remember how they got abducted or released. They also can't give any information about their abductor.

It's fair to say my interest was well and truly piqued, more so when Eva becomes the fifth victim. We soon start to find out more about Eva's own past as well as more about the abductor and boy does it make for some uneasy and shocking reading.

This had me hooked from the very first page and a couple of the twists had me gasp out loud. An enthralling and unputdownable read!

[banphriee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Mel Sherratt’s police procedural novels for some years so was intrigued by the premise of this standalone psychological thriller.


Eva is a reporter in Stoke on Trent who has been covering an unusual spate of abductions. The victims are locked away for ten days, sometimes beaten, given the absolute minimum of nourishment then released without explanation. Their captor remains silent through the ordeal.

Eva becomes the fifth woman to be abducted and thanks to her interviews realises immediately what has happened and what is in store for her. Her only comfort is knowing she will be released once the ten days are up but things take a turn when the kidnapper (Alex) speaks to Eva something that they have never done before.

There is obviously a link between the abducted women but this hasn’t yet been discovered by those covering the case. In revealing themself it becomes apparent they all have a history with the abductor putting Eva’s thoughts of her release in limbo…


The story is told from the perspective of Eva and Alex. It was interesting to see that Alex’s version of events don’t quite match what actually happened but any doubt expressed could lead to erratic behaviour and violence.
Invisible Victim is a dark and chilling tale.

Another fantastic book from this author!

[Pol · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

Dobra może pisanie recenzji rano w autobusie nie jest najlepszym pomysłem, ale mniejsza z tym XD.
Ogólenie książka posiadająca bardzo ciekawą i nietypową fabułę, z leksza mroczna i zaskakująca.
Czego nie rozumiałam to ciągła zmiana nastawienia Evy wobec Alex, gdzie plan był by się z nią zaprzyjaźnić, a jednak prawie wcale tego nie dostajemy, i rozumiem, że osoba w takich warunkach może mieć już paranoję i różnego typu zaburzenia, lecz czytając z jej prezspektywy, aż tak tego nie odczuwamy. Drugą rzeczą, która jest dla mnie nie zrozumiała to rzeczy (czekolatki, wino, kwiaty) które zostały postawione na biurku podczas zmuszenia Evy do przepisania notatek - po prostu nie za bardzo zrozumiałam co to miało dać lub wnieść/zmienić w fabule, ale oki.

No, mam nadzieję, że git recenzja, lecę umierać na 9 leckcjach, bye bye 🫶

[blanka_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na początku czułam się zaintrygowana, było ciekawie niestety im dalej tym gorzej bo totalnie nie pod pasowało mi czytanie tej książki z tylu perspektyw. Gdyby nie one książka byłaby bardziej treściwa.

Ale sam pomysł był mega dobry i ciekawy. Możecie jej dać szanse!

[korawithbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciekawa ☺️

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invisible Victim is Mel Sherratt's tense and twisty psychological thriller set in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Eva Farmer is an investigative journalist and senior features editor for Stoke News. Three women were abducted by an unidentified individual though they were released after ten days; they were Stephanie Harvey, a mother of twin boys, 66-year-old Maxine Stallington, and 39-year-old Alison Green. Eva is working on an article about the three. A fourth victim, policewoman Jillian Bradshaw, was also abducted four weeks ago but has yet to be seen again. Eva interviews these women but none of them knows who took them. When Eva finds herself in a cellar she knows she is in the same place the surviving victims have described to her and realises she's the fifth victim.

Gritty and compulsive, this thought-provoking thriller contains several interesting twists. It focuses on the relationship between abductors and abductees, the story moves along at a nimble pace and the characters are superbly drawn by the author. I liked Mel Sherratt's flowing writing and the tale was told in alternating chapters from Eva and abductor, Alex’s viewpoints. The suspense and drama are maximised to full effect and it's also heavy on emotion giving the novel an alternative dimension. This is definitely a book to add to your reading list!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can a woman vanish into thin air only to return ten days later with little memory, battered, bruised and nutritionally deprived? How?? Because there is a psycho on the loose that’s how!!! But it doesn’t stop at one woman, no siree!! Four go missing before it’s Eva’s “turn” to play this sick individual’s game. Question is will Eva survive her ten day incarceration and will she find out who is at the centre of all this trauma?!

The antagonist, Alex, seriously confused me. I thought I had it sussed but the more of the chapters I read and got in to their mindset, the less sussed I became. As the book went on, my insight to their logic got more unnerved and I feared for Eva! But Alex really intrigued me. So calm and collected but so twisted. What was the real motive to the abductions?

The narrative jumps around a little on timelines which took a bit of getting used to but once I did, I saw the pattern and settled into the story. This way of writing packs the story with tension but gave me glimmers of the twisted logic at play.

Yet again Sherratt has written a gritty and twisted thriller that kept my attention from beginning to end. I sat in fear for Eva’s safety as Alex slowly unraveled and the story hit its chilling climax. In this novel, nothing is quite what it seems and I was kept on my literary toes throughout. Cracking standalone read from the Queen of the Potteries Grit Lit!

[Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invisible Victim by Mel is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Journalist Eva Farmer finds herself the 5th victim of a kidnapper.  She has written about each victim, and she knows exactly what is in store for her unless she can escape.  The first three were released on day ten, but none will ever be the same.  The fourth victim has not been seen since her abduction.  Eva is now concerned about her own fate.

She is being held in a small room in a basement.  She has a mattress and a bucket, and not much else.  A narrow window provides her only light.  Her jewelry, shoes, and clothing have been taken, and she is now wearing someone else's sweatshirt and pants.

The police have no clues.  None of the victims ever saw the person who took them, and their jailer never spoke to them the entire time they were held in captivity.  There seems to be no connection between them.  They were released in the middle of the night, and have no recollection of when they were taken, or when they were let go.

Eva is in the fight of her life.


My Opinions:   
This was really good.  I can't believe this is the first book I have read by Mel Sherratt.  I have a lot of catching up to do.

The book centers on child abuse, on mental illness,  on the relationship between captor and captive, on nature vs nurture, on what can set a person "off".

The book is told from multiple points of view, but mostly Eva and Alex.  It becomes evident that truth and lies get mixed together.  Although there was a major twist, it was rather predictable, and I had already come to the conclusion it delivered.  However, it was still really good.

Definitely enjoyed this one, and will be searching for more books by this author.


For a more complete review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, author information and a favorite quotation or two from the book), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

[LianaReads blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blog tour: https://lianareadshome.wordpress.com/...

Ten days is such gripping story!

I’ve read a few other books by the author and this one, while is different in tone and plot, had me more invested than anything lately.

Being an investigation journalist is never easy and the dangers are always lurking around the corner, but it takes a strong heroine to pursue the path she unveiled the true and tell her actual story.

After four women gone missing, abducted and returned on the tenth day, it's Eva’s turn to live on her own skin after what the others have been through. I must admit that I was shocked by some scenes in here.

It's intense, suspenseful and very dark in so many great twisted ways.

4.5 stars
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absolutely nothing "thriller" about this book. I've never been less surprised by a "twist."

[denudatio_pulpae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ktoś porywa kobiety i więzi je przez dziesięć dni w obskurnej piwnicy. Następnie je wypuszcza. Brudne, śmierdzące, przerażone. Przynajmniej te trzy pierwsze, ponieważ czwarta nie odnalazła się od ponad czterech tygodni. Eva nie pamięta nic z tego, co wydarzyło się przez ostatnich kilka godzin, ale właśnie zdała sobie sprawę, że jest kolejną ofiarą tajemniczego porywacza. Czy to dlatego, że jako dziennikarka pisała artykuły o porwanych kobietach? I najważniejsze pytanie, którego nie może wyrzucić z umysłu – dlaczego ostatnia kobieta nie odnalazła się po dziesięciu dniach? Czyżby porywacz stał się mordercą?

Relacja między porywaczem a jego ofiarą, to dość oklepany motyw na rozważania psychologiczne. Tutaj muszę jednak pochwalić autorkę za ciekawe podejście do tematu, próbujące trochę odskoczyć od schematów, chociaż nie do końca się to udało. Mimo to „Dziesięć dni” jest książką, po którą warto sięgnąć. Solidny średniak.
6/10

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read this author before but I loved the twists and turns in this book. It kept me guessing!
I am not sure, for me, it was a any new twist on a story that I feel has been told by many authors. But I do think I will read a few more books from this author before I make my final decision on the books as a whole. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*