The Refuge by Jerome Loubry 4****

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Pages: 320

Oh wow! What did I just read?🤯

It was like the matryoshka-doll of all thrillers! A Trojan horse inside a Trojan horse! This book took the word "twist" to a whole new level... It really took me a couple of hours to get my mind back to normal mode after closing this book and I had to think long and hard about what rating to give it!

I'm not going to give you a short description as is my habit, because the synopsis at the back of the book doesn't give a clear view of the story anyway!

All I can say without revealing anything crucial is this:

Imagine reading this book like a matryoshka doll. You start with a story and think you know what this will lead to, only to then get a revelation that removes one layer and leaves you with another smaller matryoshka that makes everything clearer.

You think you've got it all figured out, only to be blown away by a new revelation that reopens a new matryoshka you didn't know was there but has brought you that much closer to the truth. Until you discover another matryoshka hidden in what you thought was the last one!

But you finally start to understand what’s going on! This is ingenious! Things finally start to make sense, you even dare to speculate how it's going to end, and then all of a sudden.... bam! Wait! WHAT? And before you know it, you're falling down the rabbit hole!

This is probably the worst review I've ever written but I really can't find any other way to explain what I’ve just read without revealing everything!

If you like true psychological thrillers... where psychology is a key part of the story; if you don't shy away from heavy topics like kidnapping, rape and paedophilia; if you love a thriller where nothing is as you think it is, and you secretly define yourself as a riddle solver, read this book now! And go in blind!

This was a 5 star read up to 95%. Then the author added the mother of all twists and lost a star, taking it just a little too far for me!

Thanks, #netgalley and @hodderbooks for sending this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review!