I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Very fun and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Perfect for Halloween Month 🎃

This was a heartbreaking story of sexual violence, child abuse, and revenge. The scenes and emotions are very descriptive and reached out to me from the pages. It was a dark story but one that I couldn’t put down.
Many thanks to Acorn Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Could not put this book down. A great mystery with a lot of twists and turns. Skyla was such a fighter and stronger than she even expected and that is what helps her to gain the trust and love of the other hostages of this madman.

Well written and I can't wait for more books from this author!

Woah! This book had some triggers that could be harmful so I will share that there is child abuse and physical exploitation. However, this one packs a punch that will not soon be forgotten. I hope it gets talked about more.

This was a surprisingly quick read, you might even say I felt compelled to keep turning the pages until I got to the end of Skyla Overland's terrifying ordeal. Skyla has been working for her father's insurance company for six years. In this time she has had to deal with a lot of claims. Most of them are genuine. Others are fraudulent and they are the ones Skyla would much rather not work with. Luckily for her, her co-manager Troy is always ready to support and help her. Although Skyla has a boyfriend, handsome, self-assured, almost perfect Edmond, deep down she knows there are some unaddressed feelings between her and Troy. Just before the Thanksgiving, Skyla gets abducted by a stranger who drives her to a log cabin in woods. To her surprise and utter dismay, the abductor has three young children who have been severely neglected for years. You see the man intended Skyla to become a substitute mother /wife/ domestic help. WhileSkyla may try to fight back or escape, what about the three innocent children. She might be their own hope for salvation and life without abuse. Meanwhile, Skyla's family keep on searching for and we know it's only a matter of time she is going to be found.

This is obviously a plot driven novel. Straight from the beginning we get the sense of foreboding that Skyla is in danger and that she isn't a random victim. Once she is taken to the cabin, we are horrified at what she has to endure to survive these long months. I also appreciated that the author included a part of what happens afterwards. There is also a bit of romance to counterbalance the focus on the kidnapping and survival, although I felt it wasn't entirely necessary for the story or character development.

Skyla is such a resilient character, strong and independent. She might not have entirely clear ideas about her romantic life, but she'll get there with time. What I liked the most about her is how she took care of the children and her sense of responsibility. The abductor's character is more difficult to understand, but, then again, perhaps it is just my mind that refuses to comrehend how a human being, whatever their circumstances and past mistakes are, can do such things to other people, including the most fragile and innocent of them all- children.

The author herself included a few content triggers at the beginning of the book (sexual violence, mental abuse, child abuse) and I really appreciated her thoughtfulness. The story includes some dark moments and it

I was not a fan of this book. To be completely honest I didnt make it past 5 chapters. I just coudlnt get into it. The story wasnt my jam and I ended up putting it down.

I had an idea that this book was to be a mystery/thriller but was unsure what the storyline would be and seeing as I had never read anything by this author prior - I didn't know what to expect. However, it seems after reading the author's introduction that this book was different from her usual stories. Overland started a bit slow-paced with us meeting our main male character who would become the abductor and then it flipped to Skyla - our main female character getting ready for her parent's business Christmas party. While out shopping, Skyla feels like she is being watched and can't shake the feeling - she also flashbacks to a time when she helped a little boy named Tom. The book then jumps to the last day at the office and Skyla is abducted and taken to a cabin in the woods. Why her and who is this guy? He seems familiar but Skyla can't place it? Imagine her surprise when she learns the guy who kidnapped her has three children and Skyla has been kidnapped to become their "new" mother. Can Skyla survive the winter and conditions and look after the children or will they get on the wrong side of the man and end up buried in a grave out in the snow. I loved this story as I like mysteries that have children involved as they can make the story and you end up having more compassion and also when it comes to the crunch, you can tell who really loves you and who just wanted you for your last name. If you are looking for a good mystery to start 2021 off with a bang, then check out Overland by Ramcy Diek today.

Great book! I was hooked from the start, thank you so much for providing me a copy of this book to read. This is something I would love to purchase.

Thanks to NetGalley and Acorn Publishing for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: Scenes of sexual violence and child abuse

A romantic suspense novel that had me interested from the very first page. Skyla Overland is taken captive by a man bent on revenge and her father and friends must rush to try and find her before it's too late.

Ramcy Diek has the ability to create an atmosphere in which the reader feels absolutely powerless as the days that Skyla is captive continue to grow. If I had one little quibble, it's that the romance element just really didn't capture me in quite the same fashion. A new to me author that I will keep an eye out for in the future.



#Overland #NetGalley
Publication Date 10/11/20
Goodreads Review published 04/12/20

Overland by Ramcy Diek was a surprisingly good suspense novel. This book kept my interest from the first page. There are some possible trigger items such as rape and child abuse. I enjoyed the ending, but I don't want to give the story away. I will be reading more books by this author. I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Overland is more of a romance/mystery as opposed to a mystery/thriller. The characters are not as strong as they could be as I feel the author could not decide which direction to take with regard to the storyline. It is an interesting story but falls flat because it fails to build up the narrative with more background information on all of the characters. The author assumes that the reader has that knowledge which is why it feels a bit weak. A more expanded version of this novel would be plausible whereas the current version feels rushed. It is worth a read but definitely could do with more body to the novel.

I enjoy a good survival story. Occasionally, I’ll even settle for a mediocre one. But this waste of digital ink was, sadly, nowhere near either category.
I didn’t expect all that much from this random Netgalley find, but to be fair, until now, the going assumption was that Danish writers are just all pretty much good, you know, the way danishes are all pretty much good. But no, this author definitely proves that theory wrong. Maybe she’s gotten too Americanized. Maybe the thing that makes Scandinavian crime fiction so good is the forbidding weather, months of darkness, etc. And this one, though set in a somewhat crappy Pacific Northwest weather, just doesn’t cut it
It isn’t a just a climate thing either. It’s…well, it’s so many things. The flat uninspired writing, the thin plotting, the stilted unrealistic dialogue…none of that helps. But it is the novel’s insistence on clumsily incorporating romance into it that really brings it down to the bottom of the barrel.
But it is a survival story or, more precisely, a kidnapping thriller. A psycho who believes himself to have been wronged by an insurance company, steals the person he blames and drags her into the woods to serve as an ersatz wife/mother/maid person for him and his young children.
This goes on for a while, during an especially brutal winter, in a remote off grid cabin, all while the victim’s family, the Overlands, search for her. The search that utilizes some strikingly inept work from both police and private investigator and a determined romantic interest, because, you know, it’s that sort of a story.
In fact, there’s a freaking love triangle in there, between Skyla, her perfect on paper boyfriend Edmond and her perfect for her coworker Troy. There’s even a completely unnecessary additional romance between the PI and a cop. And if you thought the writing wasn’t all that great to begin with, just wait till it gets all amorous, which brings it to just embarrassing levels of quality. It’s entirely possible that’s how romantic fiction is done, don’t know, don’t read that crap, but…but it can’t be, can it? Can it really be that insipid and laughably terribly written at the same time? Isn’t it enough that it already propagates completely unrealistic ideas of romance? Does it have to be such sh*te to read too?
Anyway, the entire thing ends up pretty much as you’d expect, it’s nothing if not predictable. IN fact, the only surprising thing about this production is the amount of good reviews it gathered on GR. What, how, why? Seriously? Whatever elements of suspense, whatever thrills the author had tried to infuse the novel with got completely buried under the by the numbers stilted narrative and insipid romantic overtures. Just about the only thing this novel did right was to end quickly, but even then 180 minutes were completely wasted. Pass. Avoid. Stay away. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a difficult review.

On the one hand, this book totally annoyed me. It contained so many things that showed that the proper research had not been done. For instance, when she went missing the family called the hospitals. Well, hospitals are not allowed to confirm if someone is a patient there.

Also, the boyfriend was the love of her life and she had thoughts of marriage. Now wait, he is a jerk. Oh wait, he's great again.

The writing was a bit superficial. It was as if the author was telling you how you should feel, rather than feeling it yourself. Actually, none of the characters had any depth.

So why was this a hard review to write? Because I KEPT READING IT! If I was so annoyed, who was I so drawn in and why did I read the entire thing?

Indie author, Ramcy Diek, will have your heart pumping and the pages flipping as you race through, ‘Overland,’ attempting to find out if Skyla survives her terrifying abduction.

For Skyla Overland, “How nice to see you again!” doesn’t evoke the type of response you’d normally expect to give. Especially not when it’s hissed at you, in the dark, from behind you, when your hands are tied behind your back. Especially NOT when it’s your kidnapper speaking. What a Thanksgiving this turned out to be! First Troy, the office manager, hugs and kisses her passionately as she’s leaving work at Overland Insurance and then THIS. She should have listened to her instinct. She definitely was being followed. Where is he taking her? Will anyone find her?

The layers of mystery and plot twists are what will keep readers involved in the storyline. Diek has produced a heart-thumping dramatic thriller that begs to be made into a movie! It forces one to realize that revenge is a double-edged sword and often, in the heat of the moment, our only thought is about ourselves and how we’ll feel vindicated, not the others who will most definitely be affected. Skyla’s choice 6 years ago came back to haunt her when she least expected it. Now she comes face to face with the reality of her choice, even though it was the right one, and discovers how it affected innocent people.

Published on November 10, 2020, this town’s secrets and captive trauma are ready for you to uncover.

Please carefully read the author's note before commencing reading as this book contains triggers.

Thank you to Ramcy Diek, Acorn Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quick read and one I couldn't put down because I wanted to know what was going to happen.next. Skyla was kidnapped as she was leaving work go home the day before Thanksgiving. She is missing from her family for quite some time and suffers through many traumatic situations while being held captive. There are lots of twists and turns and a very unique and unexpected ending. I definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoys this genre.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review.