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Joanna Sutton, a best-selling author, is living in a remote lodge in Montana as she struggles to overcome the demons of her past. The last thing that she needs is an escaped convict turning up on her doorstep – particularly when the convict in question has read all her novels and is dangerously obsessed with her. As the snow sets in, Joanna discovers that her worst nightmares have become reality. There‛s no doubt that Alison Brennan plays well on our fears in this novel. The premise of being marooned in a remote area during bad weather, whether snow, rain or a hurricane, has been used many times before because it rings so true for all of us and evokes deep-seated dread in our hearts. The novel feels reminiscent in some ways of Stephen King‛s masterful MISERY, but Aaron Doherty is a very different kind of stalker to King‛s female obsessive. By telling parts of the story from Doherty‛s perspective, the reader is able to understand what is driving him – even if his perception of reality is entirely at odds with the true state of affairs. When I first picked up the novel, I was intrigued to see how Brennan would be able to string out the plot to cover more than 400 pages, but she does it extremely well. Sutton‛s embryonic relationship with Sheriff Tyler McBride and the various plot twists, among other things, mean that the story moves along at a cracking pace and never lets up. Even when the protagonists appear to be safe inside the mountain lodge, there is a distinct sense of foreboding, perfectly created by the use of pathetic fallacy. At times, the novel tends to stretch the bounds of credulity, with Doherty able to escape time and time again, but it does make for an excellent thriller that would surely make an easy transition to the small or big screen. Overall, TEMPTING EVIL is an exciting read from start to finish and I devoured it in an extremely short space of time.
Reviewed by Luke Croll, August 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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