Friday, 9 February 2018

The Foster Child by Jenny Blackhurst

The Foster Child
By Jenny Blackhurst
Published by Headline (16 November 2017)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.



Publisher's description
When child psychologist Imogen Reid takes on the case of 11-year-old Ellie Atkinson, she refuses to listen to warnings that the girl is dangerous.
Ellie was the only survivor of a fire that killed her family. Imogen is convinced she's just a sad and angry child struggling to cope with her loss.
But Ellie's foster parents and teachers are starting to fear her. When she gets upset, bad things seem to happen. And as Imogen gets closer to Ellie, she may be putting herself in danger...

My verdict
The Foster Child is without doubt one of the eeriest psychological thrillers I've read in a while. It's dark, disturbing and creepy - a very twisty read with more than a hint of Carrie-esque horror within its pages.

I love Jenny Blackhurst's writing and how she really gets into her character's heads, looking into the psychology of 'why' as well as 'how'. All of her characters are so compelling, realistic and well-drawn that I changed my opinion of them throughout the book several times. This book is a very emotional thought-provoking read as well as being an intriguing one. There's so much going on, not only in the words on the pages, but also under the surface.

The Foster Child gave me many 'gasp out loud in horror/surprise' moments, as it's filled with suspense and tension. Jenny Blackhurst manages to drip-feed little pockets of information like a trail of breadcrumbs - which kept me guessing and hanging on tenterhooks right until the end.

With so many similar-themed psychological thrillers on the market, The Foster Child totally stands out from the crowd. Highly recommended!

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