Having experienced the hype of Holly Jackson’s “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” series, I was quite keen to read “Five Survive".
The event in this book mainly takes place over the span of eight hours. It is a suspenseful thrill ride.
Six friends, stuck in a RV, in an area with no cellular phone reception, with an active sniper lurking outside in the dark – this is heart-racing stuff. It gave me serious “Wrong Turn” and “Jeepers Creepers” chills. In this claustrophobic and isolated environment, it was a study in die dynamic between friends in traumatic circumstances.
“Oh, come on,’ Simon interjected. ‘This is turning into Lord of the F*cking Flies. We’re going to end up killing each other, forget about the sniper.”
Five Survive Holly Jackson Exclusive Books South Africa Roelia Reads I was kept guessing, and at one stage I didn’t trust anyone. The puzzle pieces slowly started to fit together, with a few curve balls throw into the mix as well.
“Was that fair? Maybe Red’s understanding of it was skewed, because it didn’t seem fair at all, her life in the hands of five other people. But when had life ever been fair to her, why should death be any different?”
It took me a while to get used to the first-person POV, but it may just be a personal grumble.
Holly Jackson’s writing was very visual, and I could picture everything very clearly, almost as if I was watching a movie. I did feel as if I was not so deeply invested in all the characters and their well-being, but that is in order; I can’t imagine that the reader was supposed to adore every single protagonist.
Some parts were a bit repetitive, but in general, this was a quick, thrilling, and entertaining read. The ideal book to read if you need a nudge out of a reading slump.
What I enjoyed most:
Suspenseful page-turner
Kept guessing.
Quick and easy read
Was hooked all the way through.
