Book Review: THE SPLIT by Sharon Bolton

 

Title: THE SPLIT

Author:  Sharon Bolton

Read: August 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

The remote Antarctic island of South Georgia is about to send off its last boat of the summer – which signifies safety to resident glaciologist Felicity Lloyd.

Felicity lives in fear – fear that her ex-husband Freddie will find her, even out here. She took a job on this isolated island to hide from him, but now that he's out of prison, having served a term for murder, she knows he won’t give up until he finds her.

But a doctor delving into the background of Felicity and Freddie's relationship, back in Cambridge, learns that Felicity has been on the edge for a long time. Heading to South Georgia himself to try and get to her first is the only way he can think of to help her.

 

What attracted me to this book:

 

I’ve never made a secret of the fact that Sharon Bolton is one of my favourite auto-buy authors, and I would read anything she has written, from a shopping list to the doodles made on a notepad whilst she is on the phone. So it was a no-brainer that I was eagerly lining up to get my hands on her latest creation.

 

My musings:

 

THE SPLIT promised not only an intriguing mystery but also a remote atmospheric setting of the best kind – the island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean. I admit that I had never heard of this place before, which made this armchair travel even more special. Pictures show a small rugged landmass covered in ice and inhabited by interesting creatures such as penguins, seals and reindeer. It makes the perfect setting in which the main character, Brit Felicity Lloyd, holds the unusual job title of glaciologist. We first meet Felicity at work on South Georgia, feeling absolutely terrified of a new passenger who is just about to arrive on one of the tourist ships docking on the island. She has already made an escape plan, which involves a dangerous journey in a small boat across the icy water with the imminent threat of a fierce storm about to engulf the island. But why is Felicity so afraid? And who is this mysterious Freddie who has tracked her down in this remote place?

 

With her usual flair for creating atmosphere, I was soon transported to this wild and wonderful remote island, and thoroughly enjoyed learning more about its rugged beauty, especially the glaciers Felicity’s research centres around.  And even though the second timeline leading up to Felicity’s present predicament was set in Cambridge, UK, which features in many of Bolton’s novels, I felt equally drawn to both parts of the story. After a slow burning beginning, the second timeline soon set out to answer a lot of my questions, and Felicity’s situations became a lot clearer.

 

If you have read any of Bolton’s book, you know she can write and tell a gripping yarn. Perhaps THE SPLIT lacked some of the Gothic feel that usually creates a tense and claustrophobic vibe in her other books, and I did miss the sense of dread I have been taking for granted in Bolton’s novels. It may be a symptom of reading too many psychological thrillers that I found the plot in this one quite predictable, and was waiting right until the end to be proven wrong, which is what usually happens. I felt gobsmacked to find that my theory was correct! Maybe there is hope yet for my armchair detective career.

 

So here I am, feeling split between my loyalty to this great author and THE SPLIT (I aplogise for this terrible pun). On one hand, there is a brilliant, remote claustrophobic setting. On the other hand, a very slow start, a fairly predictable plot and one of the main characters who needs to be brought before an ethics board for having a few issues with getting way too closely involved with his patients (which really bugged me). Strangely, I felt very similar about the first book I ever read by Bolton, SACRIFICE, which also featured a wonderful atmospheric setting but evoked similar feelings in me as this latest one.

 

 

Summary:

 

In summary, THE SPIT will appeal to readers who love a remote, claustrophobic and atmospheric setting that features almost like its own character in the mystery. After a slow-burner start, the second timeline moved things around at a much better pace. Despite finding the plot somewhat predictable and missing some of the dark, Gothic vibes of Bolton’s other works, I thoroughly enjoyed the armchair travel in this one and felt engaged until the end. Hopefully, for readers who don’t read as many mysteries as I do, the main plot will hold plenty of surprises and give you that “aha-moment” I had been waiting for.