Description
The Sunday Times bestseller returns with her most thrilling book yet, An unputdownable read for fans of Into the Water and The Girlfriend.
“Look after your daughter’s things. And your daughter…”
When a stranger asks Jo Blackmore for a lift she says yes, then swiftly wishes she hadn’t.
The stranger knows Jo’s name, she knows her husband Max and she’s got a glove belonging to Jo’s two year old daughter Elise. What begins with a subtle threat swiftly turns into a nightmare as the police, social services and even Jo’s own husband turn against her. No one believes that Elise is in danger.
But Jo knows there’s only one way to keep her child safe – RUN.
Praise for C.L. Taylor:
‘A gripping and disturbing psychological thriller’ Clare Mackintosh
‘Absorbing and disturbing’ Alex Marwood
‘Loved it’ Fiona Barton
‘Claustrophobic, tense and thrilling’ Elizabeth Haynes
Bob Pickett –
Jo Blackmore is gradually putting her life back together, following a breakdown. An agoraphobic, she struggles to cope with any situation outside of her normal routine. This is putting an ongoing pressure on her marriage, and her husband Max’s job as a journalist with constant calls when something happens outside of her comfort zone.
Despite this, Jo is trying to establish normality and get into the world to face things. And that determination sends her into a horror story that seems to have no way out. She gives a lift to a stranger – a stranger who pulls out a glove belonging to her daughter Elise. A threat is made, bringing Max into the situation. But Max has no idea what this stranger is talking about.
From here Jo’s already shaky world is torn apart. Things happen that have the police and social services brought in. Even Max begins to wonder if Jo is relapsing as situation after situation happens that Jo cannot control… or even recall.
What is it that this mysterious stranger wants? Why do they think that Max can give it to them? As the threats and actions escalate, and their marriage come under increasing pressure, Jo is convinced she has to protect Elise… and the only way to do that is to escape… escape into her past and a secret that was never resolved.
The Escape is Cally Taylor’s fourth psychological thriller, and continues to see her writing style develop. For the first time, the ‘other voice’ occurs in real time (if you’ve read her previous books, the current narrative is interspersed with flashbacks or – in the case of The Missing – a chat app that shows a past series of conversations) – and that it happening now is even more scary as the real danger increases.
I particularly liked the sensitive handling of Jo’s agoraphobia; like many people, I did not realise agoraphobia is a fear of losing control rather than of outside spaces (think about it, you stay inside as your home is organised exactly how you need it to be – not giving too much away but that violation of that space was a powerful scene and a real tipping point in the narrative).
The rallying round by her closest friend is totally convincing. Her return to her childhood home works well, no less because of the ages of the people she meets and their own lives intertwine with Jo’s effectively.
The story comes to a strong conclusion with the three threads (Jo, Max and the stranger) coming together neatly. Oh, and the final chapter, is so satisfying in terms of both the story and Jo’s show of strength against adversity.
Another strong tale from Cally and – at the risk of repeating myself – a triumph over adversity and a sensitive handling of what could too easily have turn into a ‘shock/horror’ storyline.