Today is my stop on the blog tour celebrating the release of the paperback of this dark and brilliant revenge thriller Nobody But Us. You can find out what i thought of the book in my review below as well as see more about the author and some by links below, but first I’d like to say a big thank you to Sriya at Penguin Michael Joseph for a chance to be a part of this tour and for a copy of the book. Now, let’s find out what I thought of this…
Title: Nobody But Us
Author: Laure Van Rensburg
Publisher: Michael Joseph (Penguin)
Genre: Thriller
Book format: Paperback
Sweet Strawberries: 
Description: YOU’RE A HANDSOME, WELL-RESPECTED PROFESSOR.
This weekend, you’re heading out of New York City with your latest conquest. She’s young and eager to please. Just how you like them. However, there’s something about this girl that’s different. You just can’t put your fInger on it yet…
YOU’RE A SMART, HARD-WORKING STUDENT.
Your excited to be whisked away by this experienced man to an isolated cabin. Far from disappriving eyes, you’re crossing boundaries. Which can be dangerous. But you know what you’re doing. Right?
Two lives. One twisted path. A game of cat and mouse.
BUT WHO IS THE HUNTER? AND WHO IS THE PREY?
*Free copy provided by publisher for review…
Review: Wow what a brilliant fast-paced and page-turning thriller! College student Ellie is heading off on a weekend alone with her boyfriend who happens to a college professor. The two of them are heading to a secluded place in Chesapeake Bay where they can spend three days alone with nobody to disturb them. Though Ellie knows she shouldn’t be dating Steven, she seems hopelessly in love, while Steven is equally interested in Ellie, though his interests lie towards the sexual kind. The two begin to spend their holiday together in the house, surrounded by nothing but thick blankets of snow and nobody there to disturb them, but on the second day when Ellie cooks Steven dinner, something happens and Ellie soon encounters a different side to him. Steven is soon discovering something new about Ellie too, the two of them have been keeping secrets, but what will happen when the truth is finally revealed?
This is such a brilliant and gripping story which I enjoyed from the first pages. The book begins with a chapter describing a terrible crime scene but giving you little detail before then beginning properly with a chapter from Ellie’s point of view, written in the first person as she trudges through the snowy New York to reach Steven’s car so they can begin their journey out of the city and to a secluded house in the woods with nothing but woodland and a beach nearby. The chapters alternate between Ellie’s first person narrative and Steven’s third person, along with the occasional diary entry which make more sense the deeper into the story you read. I love the setting of this story, a secluded house during a freezing winter with blankets of snow, woodland and a nearby beach, but nobody else in sight, it’s the perfect set up for a romantic getaway, and also a perfectly creepy location if things go wrong.
As the story moves through the three days the couple are on their holiday, we find out more about both Ellie and Steven and the relationship they have. There are flashbacks to how they met and things they have done together and I like how this story never stops being exciting. As you read on you find out more about what Ellie and Steven think of each other and I like how twisty this tale became with something unexpected happening on day two which flipped the story and made me question one character. So many things are revealed about both characters and there is a good build up to a really dramatic day three and the final ending too.
I don’t want to give away too much of what happens, but this story is quite dark and much darker than I thought it would be. I expected it to be dark, but I didn’t know it would get so graphic sexually and mention things which could make some readers less comfortable, although it’s a brilliant story inspired by the MeToo movement and one that I felt was a bit disturbing but so good at the same time. There are a few uses of the f and s swear words, some violence and less comfortable sexual scenes but the story itself, though chilling feels like one that needs to be told and this book got so stuck in my head that I couldn’t stop thinking about it and had to finish reading it in one day!
Overall it’s a good revenge thriller which keeps you guessing as to what will happen until the end. I do like what happens and how things are overall resolved, but I will say that this book felt a little dark for and it’s definitely a more unsettling story than I’m used to due reading to the content. But it is a good revenge thriller and for anyone looking for a darker read this is a book which will keep you glued to the pages.
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About the Author
Laure Van Rensburg is a French writer living in the UK and an Ink Academy alumna. Her stories have appeared in online magazines and anthologies such as Litro Magazine, Storgy Magazine, The Real Jazz Baby (2020 Best Anthology, Saboteur Awards 2020), and FIVE:2:ONE. She has also placed in competitions including 2018 & 2019 Bath Short Story Award. Nobody But Us is her first novel.
Visit author’s website Visit author on Twitter Visit author on Instagram
Blog Tour Banner
I hope you’ve enjoyed my stop on the blog tour for this interesting thriller! I’m the last stop on the tour so please do check out the previous stops on the banner below, or search for #NobodyButUs on social media. 🙂
What do you think of this book? Do you like twisty thrillers? Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂
The Strawberry Post 