About The Taking of Annie Thorne
One night, Annie went missing. Disappeared from her own bed. There were searches, appeals. Everyone thought the worst. And then, miraculously, after forty-eight hours, she came back. But she couldn't, or wouldn't, say what had happened to her.
Something happened to my sister. I can't explain what. I just know that when she came back, she wasn't the same. She wasn't my Annie.
I didn't want to admit, even to myself, that sometimes I was scared to death of my own little sister.
My review of The Taking of Annie Thorne
The Taking of Annie Thorne is dark and unsettling from the very beginning. The horrific and shocking opening chapter sets the tone for the entire book. That sense of foreboding, that is both chilling and utterly compelling.
The book is a delicious dark mixture of part psychological thriller, horror and a dash of the supernatural. What you get is a story that gets under your skin, and it's one that will stay with you long after you have finished reading.
The book revolves around Joe Thorne, who returns to his old school and neighbourhood to work as a teacher. The school and surrounding area hold many memories for him, most of which are not good and involve what happened to his sister. We read passages from the past which seem to echo what is happening in the present day. Is history repeating itself? What exactly did happen to Annie Thorne?
The novel deals with many issues involving childhood and adolescence. None of which can mentioned without spoiling the plot. But it does make you think about how our teenage years are so impressionable and shapes our futures.
The Taking of Annie Thorne is an unsettling read that chilled me. It certainly has the undertones of a Stephen King novel, in the sane way that The Chalk Man did. It's an absorbing read and one that instantly hooked me in and made me want to find out what had happened to Joe's sister. I enjoyed this deeply gothic and twisted creepy tale. A compelling read.
With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.
The Taking of Annie Thorne is published by Penguin on 21 Feb.
Part of me wants to know what happened to Annie, the other half will probably be too scared to read about it.
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