Monsters who live online don't always stay there...
or so reads the tagline of this suspenseful tale of intrigue and disjointed family dynamics.
*The Story*
Fortune is a man who has found himself so far removed from life with his family that when his daughter goes missing he doesn't know what to do or how to connect with his estranged wife.
As time passes and the investigation is cut back, he accuses the police of giving up on her, whilst guiltily realising that he himself gave up a longtime ago.
Sophie, the daughter, has a history of depression and attempted suicide on a number of occasions and the longer time passes with no information the easier it seems for people to assume that she has taken her own life. However, we are quickly introduced to various events which give cause to question this; Sophie loses her journalism position at a celebrity gossip magazine after a sting goes wrong and she is accused of stalking and threatening the mark, a celebrity with a dubious taste for young girls. Her homelife suffers as her landlord eventually evicts her after anonymous complaints of noise & antisocial behaviour are heaped against her. Distanced from the few friends she has, A Sophie finds herself alone and unable to get anyone to believe her assertions that she isn't guilty. The only person who seems to have a vested interest in her is the troll posting vitriolic comments on her blog and it isnt long before we realize that his obnoxious actions have seeped into her offline world too....
Refusing to believe that Sophie has just vanished, Fortune leaves his home and work in Dubai and returns to London in an a attempt to find out what happened to her. As he delves deeper into his daughter's life (a life he comes to realize he knows very little about) he becomes more and more convinced that all is not as it seems.
The cover gives the impression of a dark and foreboding thriller full of tension.
As I continued reading, I found myself with more questions....
•IS Sophie alive?
If not, what happened to her?
•Was the sheet really a suicide note (i think not) or was it her thoughts regarding the problems she was having with someone trolling her online (and possibly IRL too?)?
•Is Starry Urbano, the unusually named internet troll, someone known to them?
•And is there a connection between both Fortunes' worklife problems?
*Thoughts*
When i first started reading, I felt that the tension would continue to gradually build in this thriller; I liked the way the author kept the different story threads unravelling by lifting each in turn, as the chapters alternated between Fortune in the present day and Sophie in the recent past.
I was eager to continue reading to find out how they would all converge.
Without wanting to give too much away (I try to keep my reviewing a spoiler-free zone!) I found TROLL an interesting read. The action and suspense were well-paced and I found the way that different forms of prose such as blog entries and email correspondences were woven into the storytelling gave the whole thing extra interest. It was almost a mixed-media collage of writing and ideas and alluded to layers of secrecy to be uncovered.
With regards to twists, I must admit that I had an inkling of what was coming relatively early on, but this in no way lessened my enjoyment of the story.
*Rating & Recommendations*
A suspense-filled read, I rate this thriller 4 out of 5 stars; and would recommend it to lovers of thrilling fiction and fans of Holly Sneddon.
or so reads the tagline of this suspenseful tale of intrigue and disjointed family dynamics.
*The Story*
Fortune is a man who has found himself so far removed from life with his family that when his daughter goes missing he doesn't know what to do or how to connect with his estranged wife.
As time passes and the investigation is cut back, he accuses the police of giving up on her, whilst guiltily realising that he himself gave up a longtime ago.
Sophie, the daughter, has a history of depression and attempted suicide on a number of occasions and the longer time passes with no information the easier it seems for people to assume that she has taken her own life. However, we are quickly introduced to various events which give cause to question this; Sophie loses her journalism position at a celebrity gossip magazine after a sting goes wrong and she is accused of stalking and threatening the mark, a celebrity with a dubious taste for young girls. Her homelife suffers as her landlord eventually evicts her after anonymous complaints of noise & antisocial behaviour are heaped against her. Distanced from the few friends she has, A Sophie finds herself alone and unable to get anyone to believe her assertions that she isn't guilty. The only person who seems to have a vested interest in her is the troll posting vitriolic comments on her blog and it isnt long before we realize that his obnoxious actions have seeped into her offline world too....
Refusing to believe that Sophie has just vanished, Fortune leaves his home and work in Dubai and returns to London in an a attempt to find out what happened to her. As he delves deeper into his daughter's life (a life he comes to realize he knows very little about) he becomes more and more convinced that all is not as it seems.
The cover gives the impression of a dark and foreboding thriller full of tension.
As I continued reading, I found myself with more questions....
•IS Sophie alive?
If not, what happened to her?
•Was the sheet really a suicide note (i think not) or was it her thoughts regarding the problems she was having with someone trolling her online (and possibly IRL too?)?
•Is Starry Urbano, the unusually named internet troll, someone known to them?
•And is there a connection between both Fortunes' worklife problems?
*Thoughts*
When i first started reading, I felt that the tension would continue to gradually build in this thriller; I liked the way the author kept the different story threads unravelling by lifting each in turn, as the chapters alternated between Fortune in the present day and Sophie in the recent past.
I was eager to continue reading to find out how they would all converge.
Without wanting to give too much away (I try to keep my reviewing a spoiler-free zone!) I found TROLL an interesting read. The action and suspense were well-paced and I found the way that different forms of prose such as blog entries and email correspondences were woven into the storytelling gave the whole thing extra interest. It was almost a mixed-media collage of writing and ideas and alluded to layers of secrecy to be uncovered.
With regards to twists, I must admit that I had an inkling of what was coming relatively early on, but this in no way lessened my enjoyment of the story.
*Rating & Recommendations*
A suspense-filled read, I rate this thriller 4 out of 5 stars; and would recommend it to lovers of thrilling fiction and fans of Holly Sneddon.