133 Hours
Arriving at work to find she’s lost more than five-and-a-half days (133 hours), Briony Chaplin, has no recollection of where she’d been or what had happened to her. She is distraught. Has she been ill, or had a breakdown, or could she have been drugged and abducted?
Doubting her own sanity, Briony is fearful of what she’ll find. Yet she’s driven to discover the truth. When she trawls her memories, she’s terrified by visions, believing she may have been abused and raped.
Assisted by her friends Alesha and Jenny, and supported by a retired detective, she’s determined to learn where she’s been and why.
My Review:
Told in a first person present tense point of view, 133 Hours tells the harrowing story of Briony, who finds herself in a train station one morning running late for work. Feeling unwell and uncomfortable, she makes her way to work only to discover she’s not only late that day, she’s been absent without explanation for three entire days. With absolutely no memory for over five days of events, she’s lucky enough to be supported by Alesha, a work friend who insists she go straight to the police. More friends, new and old, step up, and slowly with their help, Briony begins to piece together some of what’s happened… even though none of it seems to make any sense to her.
The eventual unmasking of the mastermind did come as a surprise I hadn’t seen coming, though there’d been a few clues dropped which did point in that direction. What was never really revealed was the motivation… while I got why the culprit wanted to hurt Briony, the culprit didn’t really seem to have a long game in sight, or a plan for what would happen afterwards, and in a lot of ways they basically ‘chickened out’ of actually hurting Briony, settling for playing mind games with her with no clear endgame motive. It’s an issue with telling the story entirely from the first person perspective of the victim, that we don’t get to see inside the mind of the perpetrator, and one reason why I really prefer third person narration for mysteries and thrillers in particular. Nonetheless, the choice of first person present does make Briony’s story feel real and immediate; we as the reader are immediately engaged with her plight.
Overall, this is an intriguing story with some fascinating and unexpected twists and turns. I did feel the writer got sidetracked into irrelevancies at times, but I definitely enjoyed the read. Four stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book via Rachel’s Random Resources.
Author Bio –
Having the background of a successful career in commerce and finance, Zach Abrams has spent many years writing reports, letters and presentations and it's only fairly recently he started writing novels. "It's a more honourable type of fiction," he declares.
Writer of the Alex Warren Murder Mystery series, set in Scotland, Zach has also written the psychological thriller 'Ring Fenced' and the financial thriller 'Source', as well as collaborating with Elly Grant on a book of short stories.
Zach is currently producing a non-fiction series to help small businesses -using the collective title 'Mind Your Own Business'. The first, 'So, You Think You Want to be a Landlord' is already available.
Social Media Links –
Website : http://zachabrams.wix.com/zach-abrams Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zach-Abrams-author-463346010364540/ Twitter: @authorway