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wordsofclover 's review for:
Seven Days
by Alex Lake
3.5 Stars
CW: Sexual assault, drugs addiction, suicidal thoughts
I received a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Maggie Cooper was 15 years old, she was snatched from the street by a stranger, and held captive in an underground room. Now 12 years later, Maggie is counting the days until her son - born in captivity and conceived through rape - turns three. She's had two other sons and both were taken by their captor on their third birthday. Maggie is not prepared to lose a third son and will do anything she can to save him.
This was a fast-paced gripping read, and I really enjoyed the mix of Room and The Lovely Bones this book felt like. Maggie is a character to root for - amazingly resilient and still full of love for her children and her family. The storyline in this book flashed back and forth from when Maggie was taken and the police reaction to present day and what she was up to planning how to save Max, and what her family was doing while trying to survive the tragedy of her disappearance.
I did find the police quite inept in this and I did think the immediate pin pointing of a culprit a bit strange - and then I also wondered at the author choice to have the culprit be known so early on odd., But then as was in the family's lives, it gave the book a perversity that was difficult to read because he was so vile but also added a lot to the story.
I don't think the actual writing in this was the best I've ever read - but in saying that, I was still gripped to the story and what was going to happen to Maggie and Max. I also don't think that the addiction storyline the author tried to go down with James wasn't handled as well as it could have been and it didn't feel particularly believable.
I also found it highly implausible that Maggie and Max wouldn't be taken to the hospital straight away after the rescue, and the police station instead and just allowed to go home then. If I learned anything from Room, it was the amount of deficiencies you would end up having being locked up without direct sunlight and proper food/exercise for 12 years will have on a person.
CW: Sexual assault, drugs addiction, suicidal thoughts
I received a copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Maggie Cooper was 15 years old, she was snatched from the street by a stranger, and held captive in an underground room. Now 12 years later, Maggie is counting the days until her son - born in captivity and conceived through rape - turns three. She's had two other sons and both were taken by their captor on their third birthday. Maggie is not prepared to lose a third son and will do anything she can to save him.
This was a fast-paced gripping read, and I really enjoyed the mix of Room and The Lovely Bones this book felt like. Maggie is a character to root for - amazingly resilient and still full of love for her children and her family. The storyline in this book flashed back and forth from when Maggie was taken and the police reaction to present day and what she was up to planning how to save Max, and what her family was doing while trying to survive the tragedy of her disappearance.
I did find the police quite inept in this and I did think the immediate pin pointing of a culprit a bit strange - and then I also wondered at the author choice to have the culprit be known so early on odd., But then as was in the family's lives, it gave the book a perversity that was difficult to read because he was so vile but also added a lot to the story.
I don't think the actual writing in this was the best I've ever read - but in saying that, I was still gripped to the story and what was going to happen to Maggie and Max. I also don't think that the addiction storyline the author tried to go down with James wasn't handled as well as it could have been and it didn't feel particularly believable.