Shiver by Allie Reynolds

 

From Goodreads

They don't know what I did. And I intend to keep it that way.

How far would you go to win? Hyper-competitive people, mind games and a dangerous natural environment combine to make the must-read thriller of the year. Fans of Lucy Foley and Lisa Jewell will be gripped by spectacular debut novel Shiver.

When Milla is invited to a reunion in the French Alps resort that saw the peak of her snowboarding career, she drops everything to go. While she would rather forget the events of that winter, the invitation comes from Curtis, the one person she can't seem to let go.

The five friends haven't seen each other for ten years, since the disappearance of the beautiful and enigmatic Saskia. But when an icebreaker game turns menacing, they realise they don't know who has really gathered them there and how far they will go to find the truth.

In a deserted lodge high up a mountain, the secrets of the past are about to come to light.

My thoughts

My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  This is a debut book by Allie Reynolds and I found it a well written engaging story that kept me guessing.  I look forward to reading more books by her in the future.  I have found out that she has a new book coming out later this year and will definitely keep an eye out for it.

This is a dual time frame story that is set in the present and chapters revert back to the past as the Author reveals past events that happened to her characters and which see them all interlocked with one another in more ways than one.

As five old friends who haven't seen one another since they lost another friend Saskia in unusual circumstances, find themselves all invited to a deserted ski lodge high up a mountain in the French Alps the reunion that they had all been invited to takes a sinister turn.  It soon becomes apparent that things are not as they at first thought they were and it appears that their lives may all be in danger.  However, they all are unsure of who to trust and who not to trust as things start to happen.  Why have they all been invited and what is happening?

None of the characters knew who they could trust as they were all unsure of their old alliances.  As the story evolves we learn about their past and what happened to each of them 10 years ago in the lead up to Saskia disappearing.  

The Author draws us in with her narrative and descriptions of the environment that the friends find themselves in.  You can almost forgive yourself for feeling that you are actually there with them in the snow covered French Alps, experiencing all that is happening to them as it happens.  The story is claustrophobic, dark and a compelling read that keeps you thinking and your suspicions will move from one character to another as you read the pages.