Cold? It's time for A Cold Retreat!

Tuesday greetings to you! 

Brrr... it has been cold! 

The snow in my part of the world is now melting but the last week's confinement has meant a lot more writing for me (mostly re-edits for new editions of my Celtic Fervour Series) and it's also been a great time to catch  up with some fiction reading. 

I often step out of my comfort zone regarding the genres I read, but I have to confess I don't often read psychological thrillers bordering on the horror genre that are also mysteries. But not reading a sub-genre very often doesn't mean I can't appreciate a well written novel. 

Today, it's time for a short review of a novel that I think would fit well into the psychological thriller, crime, mystery, or perhaps even the horror category. 

The author Jim Ody hasn't visited this blog before but it's lovely to welcome someone new! I haven't been involved in a Blog Tour for quite a while but check out the bottom of this post where you can see the other blogs A Cold Retreat is being featured on. 

Here's the Blurb first:  

As a child, Penny dreams of being a princess. She knows life isn’t exactly like fairytales, but she hopes it can be similar.
The future isn’t so kind to Penny. The princes in her reality turn out to be evil. Battered and bruised she hits rock bottom.

Here's what I thought as I read it....

A Cold Retreat

You know those times when you're reading a mystery, or a thriller, and think you know the ending and then something else pops up to surprise you? Well, this novel was definitely one those for me. I don’t often read this kind of thriller horror but A Cold Retreat is very well written, gripping and took some attention to detail. 

Multiple points of view can be sometimes repetitive, and I felt this happened at times, but mostly I found it to be a very good way of describing what’s happening as seen from the other perspective of a situation. I think it works well int his novel because there are multiple viewpoints to be considered and multiple characters to understand- or at least try to understand! 

The multiple characters each have their strengths and weaknesses, some are likeable and some cause a good dose of revulsion. I didn't feel drawn to any one in particular but neither did I feel the opposite, each character demanded my time fairly equally. 

Feeling a victim. Out of control situations. Retribution. Payback. Reading a situation wrongly. Memory perhaps not always sharp or accurate over time- There are plenty of themes and other aspects to 'chew' over by the end of this nightmarish novel... which if I describe them any more it would be a ‘spoiler’ and I always try to avoid them!

Did I enjoy the novel? I'm not sure, but I was very engaged while reading it. 

I'm sure readers of thrillers and horrors would love to add this 5* read to their collection! 

You can BUY A Cold Retreat  HERE  from Amazon 

Jim Ody

Here's a bit about the author

Jim was first published in an English School Textbook in 1987. He won a competition to draw a dog-walking machine. Having won an art competition the year before, he felt that at the age of eleven he had peaked and consequently retired from art.

For 10 years Jim wrote for a number of websites reviewing and interviewing bands in his own unique way, as well as contributing dark poems and comedic features.

Jim likes to write psychological/thrillers that have endings that you won’t see coming. He also favours stories packed with wit.

Zombie Cupcake Press have published his two books 'Lost Connections' and 'The Place That Never Existed', and will release his third 'A Cold Retreat' in January 2018. He also has a short stories in a number of anthologies with Zombie Cupcake Press and Bloodhound Books. Next year will see the release of a haunting novella, another psychological thriller and the start of a comedy/crime series (Caper & Dice).

He has a very strange sense of humour and is often considered a little odd. When not writing he will be found playing the drums, watching football and eating chocolate. He lives with his long-suffering wife and three beautiful children in Swindon, Wiltshire.

Here's where you can also find A Cold Retreat during the blog Tour. 

Thanks to Jim Ody for featuring, and to Simon Leonard for organising the visit today. Best wishes with A Cold Retreat!

Slainthe!