Turn The Other Way by Stuart James Independently Published February 9th 2019
Sometimes revenge is the deadliest game of all.
A derelict farmhouse in the Essex countryside.
A deranged family.
Innocent victims picked at random.
If you’re chosen, Turn The Other Way.
Simon Bairstow is a top London surgeon. He’s performed dozens of life-saving operations. But something goes horribly wrong. The machine Eve Johnson is attached to flatlines, and suddenly her parent’s world has collapsed.
They’re hellbent on revenge, someone to answer for the horrific error that’s been made.
Noah and Jess are driving home on a busy dual carriageway and stuck in traffic. They hear thumping coming from the back doors of the transit van in front of them. When Noah steps out onto the road, he hears muffled screams.
He opens the back doors and what he sees shocks him to the core.
The van pulls off, spilling Noah onto the road.
Ignoring his wife’s plea to leave it, he hits the accelerator in pursuit of the van.
Chloe’s parents are missing. She hasn’t seen them since they left the party in Hampstead on Friday night. She needs answers, deciding to take matters into her own hands.
A serial killer is stalking the streets of Islington in North London late at night leaving his victims in a horrific way.
The press have dubbed him the Angel Attacker.
A terrifying tale of revenge with a twist that will hit you like a sledgehammer.
My Review
Oh my, this novel was not what I was expecting. It was definitely not a cosy crime thriller, this was a full on horror story that somehow I found addictive and couldn’t put down. In some ways I enjoyed the macabre and fascinating tale of blood, gore and ultimate revenge and I think it was because it was so far out of my comfort zone, and not the type of book that I would usually read.
James did not ease you in, there was no slow preamble before he plunged straight into what I can only describe as a bizarre chain of events. There were two distinct strands, almost two different stories that had you wondering just what the connection could be. Would James combine them at some point, and how would he do it? I think that is what I found so fascinating and ultimately so addictive.
The myriad of characters were a veritable mix of the ordinary who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and those who seemed determined to carry out their murderous blood thirsty intentions on the unsuspecting.
I loved James’s descriptions of the isolated farmhouse, its various rooms like a neverending maze, its contents vile and decaying, the aromas intense and overpowering. You could sense the chill, the fear, the anticipation that something was about to happen and the surprise when it wasn’t what you thought it would be but something far worse than anything you could have imagined.
I’ve not read a book quite like this for a very long time and in some ways it took me back to my teenage years when I would immerse myself in the horrors of Stephen King and James Herbert. It felt good to take that step back, to step out of my comfort zone and enjoy the thrills and spills of a modern and most excellent horror/thriller novel.
I shall be back for more of Mr Stuart James.
I would like to thank Stuart James for a copy of Turn The Other Way and Sarah Hardy of Books On The Brightside Promotions for inviting My Bookish Blogspot to participate in the blogtour.
About the author
I have always loved scary stories, especially ones that shocked me, left me terrified, looking under my bed or in the wardrobe before going to sleep.
There was just a fantastic buzz whenever I watched or read something that took my breathe away.
I remember going to my nan’s house in Ireland as a youngster with my mother and sister, on the West Coast, staying in a cottage, surrounded by miles of fields and my family sitting around the table in the kitchen at night telling ghost stories. Going out and exploring derelict farmhouses in the middle of nowhere. I remember clearly the field at the end of the road was supposed to be haunted by headless nuns.
My cousins often remind me of the great times we had, frightening each other and running for our lives whenever we’d see something that didn’t look right.
This is why I love nothing more than to tell a story.
I started writing two years ago, penning The House On Rectory Lane.
I got the idea from something that has often seemed scary to me. I know that a terrifying story has to be something that you’re frightened of doing, something that makes the hairs stand on the back of your neck, something that fills you with dread, yet also with excitement.
To me, the thought of going to a house in the middle of nowhere, upping and leaving a busy town and moving to the country is something that scares lots of people and me: the seclusion, the quiet, the darkness.
That’s what inspired me to write my first novel.
My second thriller is called Turn The Other Way.
I have multiple stories running, past and present. A family who want answers from the surgeon responsible for their daughter’s death.
A young woman looking for her parents after they go missing from a party.
A couple driving home and hearing screams for help from the back of the van in front of them.
A serial killer on the loose in North London, dragging victims off the street.
I’m so grateful when people not only read my thrillers but also take the time to get in touch and leave a review. To me, that is the greatest feeling, hearing from people that have enjoyed my work. I know then that I’m doing something right.
I’m currently working on my new thriller, Apartment Six, which should be released later this year.
I’m 45, married and have two beautiful children. Currently, I’m a full-time plumber but would love nothing more than to make a living from my writing.
I hope I write stories and people continue to enjoy them for years to come. That would be completely amazing and a dream come true.
@StuartJames73
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