Cover Image: Shiver

Shiver

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book made me feel cold reading it. Five friends are invited to the French Alps. They were all professional snowboarders. They haven’t seen each other for 10 years, since the disappearance of Saskia, the sister of Curtis one of the guests. Milla gets the invitation from Curtis. She can’t resist as she hasn’t been able to forget him. When they arrive, everything seems okay. Then their phones disappear, and they find themselves trapped. Who is playing games with them? Much more happens. This was a very good book

Was this review helpful?

I thought that this was a reasonably good novel, but felt that the element of mystery and suspense was lacking, especially as it is marketed as a thriller.
There were a diverse range of characters but I didn't feel as much of a connection to them as I would've liked. I did like the setting and descriptions of the surrounds of the mountains and snow.
I didn't know much about snowboarding and as the story is about a group of ex-professional snowboarders, there's a lot of snowboarding terminology which was a little much at times but only because I am not much into the sport, but it taught me some things too, which is always a good thing :)
Milla is one of the main characters and the story is told from her perspective and reverts back and forth to ten years ago to present day.
A decade ago, fellow snowboarder Saskia disappeared and nobody knows what happened to her.. or do they? When Milla and four others get together for a reunion, they don' know what they are in for, and may find out once and for all what happened to Saskia..

Was this review helpful?

Knowing nothing about snowboarding, I thought I would find this book a little onerous. This was not the case at all. I really enjoyed the snowboarding sections and the thriller part was enough to keep me motivated through to the end. Enjoyable book for anyone who likes twin-timeframe thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Was suggested this book by a friend, so came into this with no expectations or what I was getting myself into. Loved the suspense and the time jumps between now and 10 years ago when the events took place.

Was this review helpful?

This was a fantastic book! I really enjoyed the storyline, and the characters were great.

I love how it was told from both past and present views, that really helped paint a better picture of the relationships between all of the characters.

I definitely recommend this one for those who are looking for a twisty read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

Was this review helpful?

This is a really strong thriller in the tradition of those books which place ordinary people in situations where they are cut off from the world and faced with a mysterious threat. I really liked it. Great writing style and the author really kept me engaged with a well paced plot. A great book to take on holidays - unless you are going ski-ing...

Was this review helpful?

Put this amazing debut on your TBR for 2021!
This book has intensely creepy vibes, detestable characters, saucy secrets and so much action you won’t be able to put it down.

10 years after they last saw each other 5 friends arrive at an isolated French ski resort for a weekend reunion. Their last meeting was a season of snowboarding at the same resort that ended with one group member unable to walk again and another missing, presumed dead.

Back then they were all young professional snowboarders, training and competing in competitions, creating strong friendships, but even stronger rivalries.

In the present day they arrive at the lodge to find it completely abandoned. Things begin to go wrong as the friends discover the event was a set up, they all believed someone different from the group invited them to the reunion. Their phones go missing, the ski lift stops working, they catch glimpses of a human shadow and there is a familiar perfume in the air. Trapped in the lodge it is obvious someone has brought the friends here to uncover their secrets and find out what really happened 10 years ago.

An intriguing locked door mystery this novel combines both past and present timelines to reveal the full story and the extent of each group member's lies, betrayals and deceptions.

This novel was really well written and it was super atmospheric, creepy and very tense in the present timeline and Reynolds' descriptions of the friends' snowboarding season 10 years ago was so fun and lively it felt as if you were actually there. The characters are definitely love or hate and that's what really made this novel for me. I felt so strongly about the characters and what happened to them that I became really invested in the book and speed through it to the end to unravel all the mysteries.

I honestly could not pick a killer, this book kept me on my toes the whole way through. I'm 100% sure if you like mysteries or thrillers, writers such as Riley Sager and Ruth Ware you will enjoy this novel too. Congratulations to Allie Reynolds on such a fantastic debut novel!

Was this review helpful?

Wow this book was great! I enjoyed the ambiance and world building, felt very reminiscent of Lucy Foley's novels. The way details were steadily revealed and the alternating present and past. It felt very creepy yet beautiful, exactly I want from this type of book.

Was this review helpful?

This was so good. Definitely one to watch out for in 2021.

Five former professional snow boarders are brought together after ten years apart, all with secrets they're desperate to keep hidden. Basically, they stayed in the Overlook Hotel with no way out and a massive snow storm approaching. Slowly, they start to turn on each other. I was hooked pretty much from the first lines. I loved the flash back chapters that revealed, little by little, all of the characters dark secrets. The ending was slightly far fetched, but there was still one more twist to come and I was jumping out of my skin. When you read more than half of the book one day, then dream about it that night, you know it's good. Nothing could stop me finishing this immediately.
Highly recommended.

**Huge thanks to Hachette Australia and Netgalley for providing my digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I can see this book as a movie/TV series. A group of young athletic snowboarders in the French Alps would make for great vision.
A story of a group of friends united after a tragedy 10 years previously. Chapters are alternated between the friends competing as snow boarders across one season and later in a strangely orchestrated reunion in the French Alps. In the reunion, strange events occur and it gets more mysterious. In the earlier part, a psychopathic competitor does everything to win.
The first half of the book rocked along nicely, then lost some pace before having a speedy conclusion and a clever little reveal at the end.

Was this review helpful?