Movie Review – The Game – a psychological thriller if there ever was one

Movie Review

The Game

I am writing this literally minutes after finishing this film, so be prepared for a post-movie spiel of confusion, amazement and pure appreciation for the amount of work that went into this movie.

First off, let me introduce it!

Successful San Francisco tycoon and control freak Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) approaches his forty-eighth birthday with some trepidation. For it was at this age that his father fell from his mansion roof and died. Nicholas receives an introduction to Consumer Recreation Services from his younger brother, Conrad (Sean Penn), and is informed that he is now playing 'The Game'. Nicholas soon finds himself losing control and threatened with the loss of not just his company and fortune but also his life.

Amazon UK

(Whenever I try to get a US Amazon link for a film, it starts trying to inform me about region codes and whatnot, so I figured I'll just let you look it up yourself from the UK link.)

My Review

Whenever I watch or read a psychological thriller, or a mystery, I am always amazed at how the writer managed to make everything work. There are so many little details, and somehow they all make sense in the end, winding together. It's truly a wonder.

If you're like me, maybe you thought of a specific mind game when you read the title of the movie. If so, you lost, sorry. Don't worry, I did too! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, maybe do a little Googling.

So, Nicholas is rich, powerful, and a control freak. Stereotypical rich guy. His younger brother, Conrad, is the type of guy who you are never quite sure if they are on drugs or not. When he hands Nicholas his birthday present Nicholas certainly questions whether he has taken anything. 

Nicholas' birthday present is his entrance to The Game. With no information about what this entails, and no one willing to tell him anything, his curiosity (and mine) is piqued. After going through hours of psychological analysis, and both mental and physical examinations, The Game begins.

If there was ever a film I would call 'psychological' it's this one. The Game makes Nicholas a paranoid mess, and I wasn't much better. I was leaning forward in my seat at times, wishing I could tell Nicholas not to trust that person, or not to go down there. They always seem to be watching, and their goal isn't clear. Do they simply want to play a game? Or is the purpose of The Game much more sinister? This is the sort of film that has you flipping back and forth between explanations, trying to understand how that thing just happened, or how that makes sense. Even after finishing it, my mind is still reeling.

The wonderful thing about this film, is that it didn't just make Nicholas paranoid – it made me paranoid for him. I felt like anything could happen at any moment, like Nicholas simply wasn't safe at any times and that he needed to be more careful than he was being. I really got into this movie, and that was why I liked it so much.

Sometimes, when I find a movie like this, the kind when you have to have seen the whole film to understand it, I get a great desire to get people I know to watch it with me, just so I can see the confusion on their face as I grin with my superior knowledge. I don't know if that says something about me. If it does, it's probably not good.

Okay, I'm done!

There are probably a lot of psychological thrillers that are much better than this one, but I haven't come across them yet. I am the type of person who doesn't believe something until they see it (I know, these types of people are annoying. Sorry.) and until I see a better psychological thriller, this one is at the top of my list! (On the Movie List, though, it's at number 50. Yay, 50 movies on my list!)

Did you even read that post? Do you know what the Movie List is?

Probably not. No one reads this far anyway.

Bye!

Short Story – Metal Crown

 

Now I've got started again with my Saturday posts, I realised that I actually have created a nightmare posting schedule. And my intense need for things to be in the right order means that for this week, I need a short story. I am starting to love Title Generators.

THE STORY

When I was little, I spent a lot of time outside. I would run about in a garden of overgrown grass, weeds and rubbish, pretending I was battling dragons with a stick that I had found. The stick was my staff, and, with my invisible army behind me, I would fight the dragons that wanted to tear down the kingdom I ruled over.

I grew older, and the thought of fighting dragons lost it's charm. Still, as a ruler, you cannot escape your duties. The longer I ignored them, the more my kingdom fell. The dragons infiltrated my home, the roaring arguments sending me running to the garden. Whereas I had once fought, my army was no more, and while the dragons used to be only imaginary, they had become real, disguising themselves in those I loved.

I would sit in the garden, holding the stick that was once my mighty weapon. What had been a staff was now barely a sword, and to kill a dragon with a sword, you had to get a lot closer to it and the risk was much greater.

Sometimes, although I was much too old for make-believe, I would pretend that the dragons had caused the peeling wallpaper, that their careless steps had worn down the furniture and that the swishing of their tails had knocked the cupboard doors loose of the hinges. I pretended that the smell of rotting food was because the dragons didn't like to eat things fresh, and that the reason I didn't like leaving my room was because the dragons were dangerous.

After all, dragons are dangerous, and you wouldn't want to fight them without an army or a staff.

My kingdom crumbled under my reign, and more than once I found myself wondering whether, if I had been brave enough to stand up to the dragons, to fight them away from my kingdom and to keep them out, I would be a good and wise ruler, rather than a failed king.

But then again, I was not the king of this kingdom. I was the prince, I wasn't the one to rule, but the one to inherit. I may have been fighting the dragons, but I should've had the king by my side, leading the army, not hiding in the castle and letting me risk my life and the lives of my invisible men.

As the prince, I was a traitor to ride away from the kingdom the first chance I got. Stealing away in the dead of night, my steed of steel, not flesh, and my bag tossed on the backseat, rather than tied carefully to a saddle. As a prince, I was banished from the kingdom when my treachery was discovered, and all of my invisible men, the army that had once been so loyal to me, was abandoned within the castle grounds. Why drag them along with me when it would only bring them to ruin as well?

There is always a time in everyone's lives, that the inevitable happens. As a prince, it is supposed to be a big event. The kingdom mourns and the prince is celebrated as everything is passed over to him. He must try to live up to the reign of the one before him, to prove himself as a leader to the kingdom.

I had no ceremony, and there was no kingdom to mourn the losses. As I walked into my kingdom for the first time since I ran from it, I saw not the shining grandeur of a castle, but the crumbling walls and scattered rubbish that was the only proof there had been anyone inhabiting the castle.

I grabbed a bag and started to pick up the rubbish. I did not inherit a flourishing kingdom, for all the inhabitants were gone. After all this time, the dragons were gone too, and the silence was deafening as I walked through the ruins of my childhood.

I accidentally kicked a can, and it rolled across the floor to join a pile of them. They were everywhere, filling any surface available. I did not inherit gold, but a Metal Crown.

La fin.

I don't know French, I googled that.

Apparently, anytime I write a story based on a randomly generated title, they have intense metaphorical themes. The other being The Wall and the Flower (read it, it's very good, if I do say so myself!)

Also, my stories all seem to be very emotionally intense. I apparently do not like writing characters that have a good time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Bye!

A Review – The Cornish House by Liz Fenwick

 

The Cornish House

by Liz Fenwick

A Review

This is quite a last minute post. Most of my posts are scheduled for at least a week, maybe more, before they go out. The date that this one's going out? I wrote it yesterday.

As if I don't have enough books, I picked this one up in a charity shop. I didn't really pay much attention to what it was actually about, by reading the blurb before buying it, I just thought it had a pretty cover and the house on it is practically my dream house. So I bought it and it somehow jumped to the top of my very long to-read list, pushing back so many other books that have been waiting so very long to be read.

I'm on a bit of a time limit as I'm writing this post, as I have nearly 40 minutes before I have to be somewhere, and I'm hoping to get it done before I have to go.

Let me introduce the book, and then we'll get into the review!

When artist Maddie inherits a house in Cornwall shortly after the death of her husband, she hopes it will be the fresh start she and her step-daughter desperately need. Trevenen is beautiful but neglected, and as Maddie discovers the stories of generations of women who've lived there before, she begins to feel her life is somehow intertwined within its walls.

But Maddie's dream of a calm life in the countryside is far from the reality she faces - and as she pulls at the seams of Trevenen's past, the house reveals secrets that have lain hidden for generations.

(I decided to start using universal links, so here's one! It'll take you to a page where you can choose what store you would like to buy from!)

Click here to buy a copy!

My review!

I bought this book on a Saturday, started reading it on Sunday, and had finished it by 7am Tuesday morning. This is the kind of book that you don't want to put down, because you fall in love with the world in the story.

As she's dealing with the death of her husband, and struggling to put up with the snarky remarks of a stepdaughter who hates her, Maddie learns that she has inherited a house in Cornwall. With the hope that a fresh start in a new area will heal not only Maddie's and Hannah's broken hearts, but also their relationship, Maddie packs up their house in London and makes the move.

The house, as picture-perfect as it may be, is certainly in a state of disrepair. The heating doesn't work, there's no internet connection, the list goes on. Although, the money has run out and Maddie simply can't afford to fix everything properly.

The community is like one that most people think you only read about in books, but actually exists – where everyone knows everyone and there are no secrets, as everyone is a gossip and they all love a bit of juicy news.

I really felt for Maddie. She's trying to cope with so much and Hannah doesn't make it easy on her. I simply could not see why Hannah thought Maddie was so wicked, for all Maddie ever did was be nice to her and try to provide her with whatever she wanted. It's understandable that Hannah would be distraught at the death of her father, but the way she treated Maddie was disgusting. There were times that I really liked Hannah, especially nearer the end, or when she was with Old Tom, but at other times I despised her. This may be because this book gives both points of view, Maddie's and Hannah's, and perhaps if it was simply from Hannah's point of view I would like her more, but knowing what I did about Maddie and how much she was struggling, and what a lovely person she was, I found it difficult to like Hannah too much.

There are always some staples in a good community – there has to be a dashingly handsome man that every woman secretly thinks about, and a loving, yet loud, woman with no boundaries, who quickly becomes the best friend that the main character didn't ask for. These are Mark and Tamsin. I absolutely adored both of them, for although Tamsin often poked her nose in where it wasn't wanted, she was absolutely the kind of friend that Maddie needed, someone who always had her back and, although she liked chatting, would keep a secret if she knew you didn't want anyone to know. Mark, as well, was incredibly kind and grew close to Maddie. The friends that Maddie makes are the best kind that she could ever hope for, and I loved watching their friendships grow.

I absolutely loved the aspect of this novel wherein both Maddie and Hannah are digging into the past, trying to find out about those who had lived at the house before them. Maddie's search for the truth about her real parents, whom she never knew, and Hannah's desperate bid for something vaguely interesting to do in this strange house, led to some interesting discoveries that I, too, was all too excited to find out about.

This book was one that I loved from start to finish. The people in this novel are the kind that you want to be real, so that you can be friends with them, and it will definitely make you want to visit Cornwall. I woke up at 6am on the last day of reading this and I was completely ready to go back to sleep until it wasn't such a ridiculously early hour until I remembered the last portion of this book was waiting for me. I had finished reading it by 7.

This book has a bit of everything – sadness, pain and heartbreak, as well as happiness, love and hope.

And end review!

My time limit didn't work too well, as I decided to make coffee half way through writing this. I have four minutes left. I better make this ending short!

Really, though, you should check out this book! If it's not your style, I'm sure you know someone who would love it!

Okay, three minutes. I'm going to finish here.

Bye!

Places To Read, An Unintentional Multipart Short Story Series – Part 7

 

In the summer

The heat of the summer is different from warmth. When a heatwave hits, the air becomes stifling inside, and you can't bear it. The only issue is that sitting in the shade is too cold. Therefore, the only possible compromise is to pull out a chair and sit in the sunshine, your shoes kicked off and your feet resting against the ground.

You try to get comfy on the garden chair, but to no avail – there is no comfy way to sit on one and still be able to read. The book your have open in your hands seems to soak up the sunshine until you can't see the words, so you have to lean forwards, moving inch by inch until you have managed to find a position that you can sit in, while using your head to cast a shadow onto your book.

It takes less than ten minutes before you have to get up and grab a drink, which means that although you now have an ice cold beverage, with ice cubes clinking against the side of the glass as you walk back out to your chair, you have to try and find the correct sitting position again. Worse – you will have to do so every time you lean down to pick up your drink from the floor to take a sip.

The sun beats down onto your head, and when you reach up, your hair is hot to the touch. Sun bleached hair is a sacrifice you must make if you want to read outside.

You don't notice your skin slowly changing from the pasty white colour of someone who spends all day inside, reading, to a darker tone. It depends whether you were prepared enough to put suncream on as to what colour your skin turns. It may settle into a golden colour, the kind that many spend money to achieve. However, the likelihood of that happening is very slim. It is more possible that your skin will redden so slowly that you do not notice it, until later that evening, when you have gone inside. You may be changing into pyjamas, or having a shower, when you see the redness of your arms and legs, and a quick look in the mirror says that your face is the same.

Is reading worth the sunburn, the distraction of flies and the uncomfortable chairs?

Yes, and you will do the same tomorrow.

Hello!

I am sorry for the lack of Saturday posts for the last six weeks or so. The world was against me, and my laptop broke and I still haven't fixed it. I have been using a PC that is not mine, and I cannot move it from it's position in the house, so I can't sit in privacy to write. To write this, I put on headphones and turned the volume up to drown out noise, but it's not the most effective thing ever. On top of that, I've had no inspiration, which doesn't help.

My plan is to try and get these posts going again, but I am still struggling with inspiration – this one is obviously inspired by the weather in England recently. I would not turn away any help coming up with some ideas of things to write about!

That's all I have to say for now, I'll get going and try to come up with some more post ideas!

Bye!

Movie Review – The Devil's Own – My favourite movie!

 

Movie Review

The Devil's Own

I am fairly sure at one point I said I would review both books and movies on here, and so far it has only books... oops.

I promise I watch movies! I actually watch quite a lot. When I write posts vs when I post them is a whole bag of cats I don't want to open, but as I write this, I am planning on writing a post about my relationship with movies. I may add in a link if it has already gone live.

As I'm writing this, I'm actually having a bit of a lovers tiff with books, and I can't think of anything to write about them, I don't particularly feel like writing my own stories and I'm not in the mood for reading. To movies it is!

What better to start off with, but my favourite movie?!

I can't actually find a 'blurb' for this movie, but I found this and it fits the bill. I don't know if it's a part of a review, or something else, but it'll do!

Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt star in this crime drama directed by Alan J. Pakula. When senior IRA member Frankie McGuire (Pitt) arrives in New York on a mission to buy Stinger missiles he uses the alias Rory Devaney and finds lodgings with NYPD cop Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford). Despite liaising with fellow terrorists in New York to secure his deal, Frankie finds peace with Tom's family and a strong bond begins to form between the two men. How will Tom react when he finds out the true identity of his house guest?

Amazon UK

(Yes, I gave you a DVD link. Yes, I still watch things on DVD. It's also on Netflix right now, if that's preferable.)

My Review

First off, Brad Pitt.

Now, let's get into it properly. Frankie is a part of the IRA. He is also the main character. His entire goal is to travel to America to obtain Stinger missiles and sail them back to Ireland, to give the IRA the edge it needs to make everyone else listen. This would, therefore, suggest that you should not like Frankie.

This is not the case.

While he is technically the bad guy, I would call him an anti-hero (if that is the right term). He is a bad guy you can't help but feel sorry for and you find yourself coming up with reasons for why he is doing what he is doing, to excuse him. He saw his father gunned down in front of him when he was a child, and his actions from then seem to be in retaliation, to get revenge. He has people counting on him, and while his morals are not exactly in the right place, he is not one to break a promise.

His relationship with Tom is an interesting one. In America, Frankie calls himself Rory and is placed in the home of Tom O'Meara, a Sergeant at the New York Police Department. Tom has a wife and three daughters, the kind of family you wouldn't expect to be housing a terrorist, even if they didn't know it. The way Frankie fits into the home is almost like it was meant to be. The bond that forms between him and Tom is like that of a father and son, as if Frankie was finally learning what it is to have a father after so many years, what it is like to have someone care about you like that. He becomes like a brother to Tom's daughters, especially the youngest, Annie, who looks up to him like he is a saint. As you watch, you can't help but think that if Frankie abandoned his plans, he could fit in so well with this family, could start a new life for himself.

There is violence and action, which is another reason why I love this film so much. My favourite genres are action and thrillers, and I would pin this movie as both. I have watched this so many times, granted I only watched it the first couple of times because of Brad Pitt, that I have reached the point in that I no longer have to be paying attention to know what is going on. I can have it on in the background while I tidy, or sit down to start watching it half way through and know exactly what is happening at all times. Although, not much cleaning actually got done the time I tried that, because I kept getting distracted by the screen.

Nonetheless, I really enjoy watching this movie, although the first time I saw that ending, it had me rewinding and rewatching multiple times before I fully comprehended what had happened. My hand was over my mouth and I felt tears behind my eyes. I'm not one for crying at movies, so the tears never showed themselves, but I felt them there, ready.

So yeah, first movie review of my life. I think it went pretty well. There was no critical, in depth analysis of the actors or the script, and I have no idea who directed it, but I think I covered the basics!

Also, I am not sure entirely how good Brad Pitt's Irish accent was, I liked it (I am a sucker for an Irish accent) but others have said it wasn't great. Who knows.

That's it for now then.

Bye!

My Favourite Genres – only read if you have some time, it's quite long!

 

My Favourite Genres

In case you're new here, every so often on a Wednesday, I write a weird post that I have no idea where it is going and it sometimes ends up as a massive digital ramble about something completely different than I meant it to be.

Today, I plucked an idea out of the air, and am going to talk about my favourite genres! (Buckle up, this is bound to be a long one!)

Now, because I am an awkward human being and cannot possibly have simple tastes, the genres I like depend on whether I'm watching a movie, reading a book, writing a story or writing a short story... I'll take it one at a time!

Books

I don't really care what I read, as long as it's good! I like thriller and mystery books, because the build up and tension can be really good if it's done well. I also, for the opposite reason, like romancey books, because of the lack of tension.

I like to say that I like reading horror, but I have actually never done so... I just say it for attention.

I've read quite a few dystopian, YA, science fiction type books, although I haven't read many in quite a while (the most recent were Ready Player One & Two). I remember, once, I read a book that was about a pandemic, and there was chaos, confusion, action – all the good stuff (this was about five years ago, I didn't even consider then that something like that might actually happen... it was a dystopian book...)

I went through a phase once where I decided I was uncultured and should read some 'classics'. Despite warnings, I decided I should read Jane Austin's Emma (I should've listened, it was so boring I didn't finish it). I also bought copies of Wuthering Heights and Frankinstein because they had pretty covers. I read Wuthering Heights, although it did take me a solid two weeks of reading to get through it, because I was very confused to begin with, and the writing style that seems to be popular in the classics is very descriptive, the kind of writing that is filled with a little too much world building and not quite enough exciting events. I didn't get through Frankinstein, although I still didn't understand it by the middle of the book, so maybe that's why.

I am also quite a big fan of action books, as well (basically, if you give me a book, I'm probably going to read it).

Movies

I am a little more picky when it comes to movies. This is where I start getting awkward.

My favourite movie genres are thrillers and horror. If you read my post 'My Relationship With Movies – prepare for a rant!' you might know about The Movie List. (I'm not explaining it, go and read the other post, click on the title above, I linked it.) You can tell what kind of movie phase I'm in by the most recent colour coding. For example, horror is orange, thriller is yellow. The colours mean nothing specific, those were just the highlighters I had to hand. Romance, however, is pink, and that was intentional.

I know a lot of people say this, but I am not scared by horror movies. I am not even making this up to look cool. If my friend wants to watch a horror movie, she has to do so when I'm there so she won't get as scared, since I won't get scared. Sure, sometimes I'll jump if I'm not expecting a jump scare, but generally I'll watch them in the middle of the night and appreciate the cinematography, the work that went into it, the acting, and the story. I know, I'm odd.

I love thrillers for the same reason – some of them have such incredibly intricate storylines that I find myself astonished that such a thing is possibly to think up.

I am not opposed to the occasional comedy, but it has to be a good comedy – for example, The Mexican. I went into that movie having no idea that it was a comedy, and only realised after about half an hour of being quite confused. I might rewatch this and do a review on it at some point. Another one would be Hot Fuzz – I find that although I am a comedy master, and you can't say anything around me without me cracking a joke in response, I can only watch comedy in moderation. Otherwise it seems over the top and silly (which is what it's meant to be, so I'm just annoyingly specific).

I do not like action movies. Correction, I like them, I just don't understand them. I have watched so many action movies, and had no idea what the actual story is about. I've started only watching them with my Dad, because he understands them perfectly, so he can explain what is happening as it happens.

I am also not the biggest fan of romance, even though I like reading it. It's so incredibly predictable (which is the reason I like romance books...) and I just find them boring.

Writing Novels

This makes it sound like I have written multiple full length novels, and have them just lying around in my computer. This is untrue. I have STARTED writing multiple full length novels, I have three on the go (although one has been abandoned because it's terrible) and have complete ideas for three more. These do not follow any particular theme, and every single one is in a different genre. I have young adult, historical fiction, science fiction, romance... my imagination is not contained within a genre box when it comes to writing novels.

HOWEVER! There are some things that I am better at writing than others. I can write romance for pages and pages, and it can be brilliant, but I can manage maybe 500 words of horror before I realise it's incredibly cliché and not at all scary. Sometimes I will be struck in the brain with a metaphor, which I will write down with glee, and other time I will stare at a blank page for hours before I give up and close the document.

Writing Short Stories

Now, this is something that I have done a lot! I don't have any published, but I have a total of three complete short stories, two half written, and a plethora of very short ones (these are on this blog). I plan, at some point, to maybe publish the three I have finished, and the other two if I ever finish them, but that's something that would happen when I get around to it, not following any particular time frame.

When I write potentially publishable short stories (these are about 10,000 words) they are generally quite harrowing, or warped. It's that, or they're sweet romances.

When I write short short stories (about 250-1000 words, these are all on this blog) they can be a range of genres. Somehow, they seem to always be creepy and weird, but I have some cute ones as well. With these, it really depends on what kind of mood I'm in when I write them as to what genre they end up being.

Conclusion

I think the format is really important to whether or not I like something. For example, I love thriller movies, but the first time I read a thriller book, I was kind of creeped out by the way it made me feel, getting inside the heads of the characters, instead of just watching them on a screen. It also depends on my mood. If I'm feeling sappy, I'll write/read romance and watch something sad (my movie habits are basically the opposite of my mood) but if I'm feeling bored, I'll want something fast paced and action-packed (although not actually action, unless my Dad is there!)

Okay, I think I'm done now! I warned you at the start that this was going to be a really long post (did I...? I can't remember. I probably did). If you got this far, wow. You have commitment.

If you didn't get this far, I can't say I blame you, but also, how are you reading this...

I'm not funny.

Bye!

A Review – Poison in the Pills by August Raine

Poison in the Pills
by August Raine
A Review

I have a nasty habit of downloading way too many books, of which I do not have time to read. If you have read practically any of my reviews thus far, you probably know this.

I was initially offered a chance to read this book by the author in late February. Considering it is June (when this is posted, I actually wrote this last Saturday), obviously it was a good decision to say no to begin with – not that I didn't want to read it, I simply did not have time.

In late April, I had some free time coming up, so I got back in touch with the author, and asked if the offer still stood. I was so happy when it did!

You may be wondering – if I got my copy of the book at the end of April, how come it has taken me an entire month to read it? Is it a really long book?

No.

I started reading it yesterday, and finished it today.

My free time evidently wasn't as much time as I anticipated.

I'm going to stop talking now, introduce the book, and get to the review – it's been long enough coming already!

A new street drug is ravaging the UK. Users are being struck down by an incurable illness. Those suffering from the dreaded Itch are in so much pain they’ve peeled the flesh from their bones, desperate to relieve their symptoms.

Set in and around Manchester, the story follows Jack Bright, a scientist determined to help those affected. Whilst investigating a clinical trial that ended in tragedy, he uncovers a disturbing secret. Little does he know, someone will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried. Before Jack can find out more, he is framed.

Desperate, not only to clear his name but also to find the truth, Jack is forced to resort to increasingly questionable methods. Breaking and entering. Blackmail. Kidnapping. With every decision, his morals are tested. But he perseveres, motivated by a tragedy in his past.

Jack’s luck is constantly dwindling, until he finds himself racing against more than just the people who are after him. What will it take to cure The Itch?

Amazon UK • Amazon US

And after so long, my review!

I will start by pointing out, I read this book in two days – it would have been one, but I had to go out in the evening of the first day, so I couldn't sit down and keep reading like I wanted to. I love thriller and crime movies, and this love is slowly moving onto my bookshelf (or indeed, my eReader). Therefore, when I started reading this, I was almost immediately gripped.

With an illness, aptly called the Itch, causing so much suffering and fear, the company Jack Bright works for, Rathbury Holmes, a pharmaceutical company, is working to try and find a cure. After a previous attempt at a cure ended with seven people dead, Jack is desperate to find out what happened. Yet, his boss had already repeatedly told him to stop doing so. With no desire to do so, Jack plans on continuing anyway, when he is framed as a dealer of the banned drug Dose, the drug that was banned when it was identified as the cause of the Itch.

Jack is a very troubled person. He only wants to do good, to find out what caused the failure of the last 'cure' so that it won't happen again, and maybe lead to the development of something that can actually help, but when he is arrested, his ability to do so seems to dwindle. The situations he keeps finding himself in, which are usually his own fault, get increasingly less forgivable, yet his reasoning, and the guilt he feels afterwards, somehow make you feel sorry for him. He is not cut out to be a criminal, and solving the mystery might be the only thing that can prove his innocence.

Jack has several people helping him, the first one of his best friends from work, Lizzy, who has access to Rathbury Holmes, even after Jack can no longer show his face in public. The second is Erin, whom Jack is not particularly friendly with, and is a campaigner against the Dose ban. Unfortunately, Lizzy's boyfriend is part of the police force, so Jack has no choice but to stay with Erin, the two forced to put up with each other. Both Erin and Lizzy are incredibly sarcastic, and I really liked both of them. I preferred Lizzy, though, as Erin seems to get Jack into trouble just as much as he gets himself into trouble.

Now, I am no chemistry wizz, in fact I get easily confused by most science talk, but this book was easy to follow. As Jack theorises about the failed cure, and the Itch, there were some things that I had to read slower to understand, but this is just because I do not understand the concept of chemicals and how they work.

Being a thriller, there have to be some twists and turns. I saw one, in particular, coming, due to clues in the story that I picked up, but there is one at the end that I could not have foreseen even if it was a bus heading straight for me.

I wish I had read this book sooner, because it was absolutely amazing, and even better, believable. Jack does not go on the run and easily evade the police, nor does he have a particularly easy time trying to prove his theories, even when he is absolutely positive that he is correct. People have in their brains what they have been told over and over is the cause of so many things, and they are unwilling to believe anything contradicting this. I thought this perfectly sums up normal behaviour of the masses when someone has a different idea that no one wants to believe.

All in all, this is a great book and if you like thriller/crime books (or movies!) you are likely to enjoy this book.

And end review! It's a bit of a long one, but I think after so long between getting and reading this book, and finishing reading it not too long ago, I have a lot of thoughts about it.

Having finished my review, I am now thinking that this book reminds me a little of that movie Contagion, you know, the one about a global pandemic that was trending No.1 on Netflix about March time last year?!

Okay, that's all I have to say for now!

Bye!