My Full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2016/09/08/book-review-the-fire-child-by-sk-tremayn...

My Full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2016/09/08/book-review-the-fire-child-by-sk-tremayn...

I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book. The Ice Twins was one of the best books I read last year and to say that I was eager to read this book is an understatement. I was a bit concerned that I had too high expectations since The Ice Twins blew me away, but I was soon relieved when the story hooked me.

What I love about this book is that you just don't know if Rachel is crazy or just paranoid. She acts odd, but then again, so does her stepson Jamie. And, what about David's wife who died not long ago? Is she really a ghost in the house or is Jamie just a traumatized boy? And, what about David? Could he be behind his wife death? The story is strange and wonderful and I loved reading and wondering what the heck is going on?

The story made me think of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Of course, no crazy housekeeper, but the dead wife and the gothic house, and a woman that marries an older man. Yup, that's what made me think of Rebecca.

Of course, it's hard not to compare this book to The Ice Twins and, despite how much I enjoyed this book it just wasn't as captivating as The Ice Twins and the ending was definite not as good. However, it's still a bloody good book and I recommend this book to anyone liking psychological thrillers. ( )

More on Chill and read

Wow, just wow! This was not what I was expecting it to be!

When thirty year old Rachel marries David, a corporate lawyer, with a massive mansion of a house in Cornwall, she expects her life to be finally at ease! She is really fond of David’s son, Jamie, a wonderful eight year old boy, who seems to like her too! the two of them develop a very good relationship, which makes Rachel feel she took the right decision.

But then suddenly, Jamie’s behavior changes. There are times that he doesn’t talk to her, he doesn’t even spares a glance for her. With David gone most of the time, in London for business, Rachel’s life takes an unexpected turn. The boy starts to make some very disturbing predictions for Rachel’s future. He claims to have been communicating with his late mother. As times goes by and winter settle’s in, Rachel becomes suspicious of everything around her. Even her husband. She reaches a point to really fear that Jamie’s latest prediction may very well turn out to be true. She fears the words he said to her:

“You will be dead by Christmas.”

Cornwall is the best setting for this story. The old aristocratic area. The house that belonged to David’s family for one thousand years. the Cornish mines with all their dark past, the workers, the deep dark waters and the deaths. The shores and the sharp cliffs and all the rocks and wholes that the mines have dug in the pained land. This whole romantic and yet at the same time Gothic atmosphere build up momentum that is used cleverly in the story, ready to strike at the right time!

The story was a really good one. You have Jamie’s words, about the death by Christmas and you also have the claim that he communicates with his late mother. So you start to think that something isn’t right. Maybe the boy is evil. Maybe his mother never died. Maybe it was David that killed her and now is coming for Rachel. All these and even more scenarios and not knowing what might be the actual case! Only to think of all those possibilities and any other that comes in mind, needs you to invest so much in this book!

It really had me hooked until the end. At some point, I wasn’t even sure who was the villain in the story. I got to see different aspects of the characters’ personality that had me all thinking. Are they hiding something? What really happened in the past? Why something so simple and plain may have so much importance that the author actually spends time and words to mention it? Surely, I’m not missing something here, am I? All those questions were floating up my mind, until the beginning of the end. When every piece of the puzzle started to take it’s place. When I though I knew what was going on, until I realized that was not it.

The big twist at the end is superb! It comes out of the blue, completely! There were some hints, but it never really crossed my minds and that’s a win for the author! Especially the last chapter is one I didn’t see coming! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion. ( )

With an isolated setting and increasingly unreliable characters, The Fire Child by S.K. Tremayne is an atmospheric, suspense-laden psychological thriller.

After a whirlwind courtship, thirty year old Rachel Daly marries forty year old lawyer David Kerthen who then whisks her and his eight year old son Jamie to the family estate in Cornwall. Initially blissfully happy, Rachel is struggling with her stepson's increasingly upsetting behavior that eventually brings her to ask a few probing questions about his mother Nina's somewhat tragic death. David is reluctant to divulge very many details and as Rachel becomes more concerned about Jaime's mental state, she makes a decision that has violent consequences and puts her in a very precarious situation with her husband. Will Rachel find out the truth about Nina's death? Can she protect herself and Jamie after events begin to escalate out of control?

Rachel has come a long way from her humble beginnings but she is still somewhat uncomfortable as she tries to resume the elegant renovations of David's family estate. With David working long hours in London, Rachel is lonely but she keeps busy investigating her new surroundings. She is also busy with Jamie but she is becoming increasingly worried about his strange behavior and she becomes quite frightened after he makes a rather dire prediction. As Rachel begins piecing together the details of Nina's fatal accident, some of the information she uncovers does not make sense and David is reluctant to discuss the night his first wife died. What secrets are her husband keeping? Why is he so unwilling to do more to help Jamie handle his grief?

At first glance, David is the perfect catch. He is a devoted father and he is a well-respected lawyer who works long hours. Through hard work and a lot of determination, he saved the estate after his father's gambling problem nearly bankrupted the family. He positively adored his first wife, but David is quite smitten with Rachel and he has a great deal of respect for her. However, he is most displeased when she begins asking questions he does not want to answer and he is infuriated after she takes steps to try to get Jamie help for his odd behavior. In the aftermath of violent altercation, David is cold-hearted and ruthless in his attempts to take complete charge of his fracturing family.

In some ways, Jamie is a perfectly normal little boy. He loves his dad and he cares a great for Rachel. However, he is completely confused about some of the things that happened the night his mother died and with the anniversary of her death fast approaching, he is becoming quite desperate. Jamie's declarations are unsettling and he is quite adamant that she is alive despite evidence to the contrary. However, inexplicable and unexplained occurrences play into some of Rachel's doubts and fears and she becomes convinced that Jamie might have a legitimate reason for some of his beliefs.

For the most part, The Fire Child is an incredibly riveting mystery that moves at a very brisk pace. S.K. Tremayne does an absolutely brilliant job building suspense as Rachel tries to uncover the truth that David is trying so hard to keep from her. With the tension reaching a fever pitch, this psychological thriller comes to a pulse-pounding adrenaline-filled conclusion that neatly wraps up all of the various threads of this spell-binding and somewhat eerie story. ( )