The Cellar by John Nicholl – Review

Today I am reviewing The Cellar by John Nicholl, which I found to be a perfect crime/thriller to be reading over the halloween season! Big thanks to John for providing me with a copy of the book for review, and to Rachel of Rachels Random Resources for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour.

Blurb

Dark, disturbing and gripping. This is not for the faint of heart.

Nurse. Protégé. Murderer.

Marcus Gove has been all these things. He’s reached the pinnacle of his art and now it’s time for him to take a protege. Lovely Lucy is perfect for the role, or she will be . . .

Artist. Teacher. Daughter.

Lucy Williams is just like everyone else. She’s had some success as an artist, not so much success in love, but she’s getting by. But soon she’s going to have to become something else if she wants to be a survivor.

Detective. Ex-husband. Underdog.

Ray Lewis’s career isn’t heading anywhere. But he’s a solid detective and he’s determined to find Lucy no matter what the upper brass throw at him.

Three people. Ten days. Who will live and who will die?

Review

I. Loved. This. Book. I do love a thriller and a good crime to be solved, but a lot I have read recently are more detective-based, where you’re following the police for all/the majority of the story, with the odd mysterious flash to what your criminal is up to. Though this book does follow the police side of it to an extent, you get a really good view of your criminal, as well as knowing his identity right from the start.

And boy is he the perfect criminal. Marcus Gove is a strange, twisted man, going to extreme lengths to fulfil his fantasies and create his ‘art’. As I’m already obsessed with crime, serial killers and the like, it was fascinating having such an insight to how this characters mind worked. How he planned, how he carried out his crimes, and seeing his obsession with Lucy develop.

Lucy was a fantastic character; a little naive (how on earth could this girl be so blind to certain red flags her family could clearly see?!) but she soon developed into a strong lead, showing just how smart and determined she could be. I think this is highlighted even more by how polar-opposite she is to her anxiety-ridden sister.

The story as a whole was an entertaining read, from following Lucys ordeal with Marcus to watching the police slowly unravel the clues, battling to solve a crime with bare minimum of available evidence. This was definitely a book I was glued to, getting lost in the pages and finding myself still reading at 1AM!

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/3K0XBkc

About The Author