Lock Me In by Kate Simants October Book of the Month

As a blogger, more specifically a book blogger, I realise just how lucky I am. Getting to read many novels before they've even hit the shelves in the shops. Recently I was contacted by the talented author Kate Simants to ask if I'd take the time to have a read of her debut novel. Silly question really as my answer was always going to be yes!

Whatever you do, don’t open the door…

By day, Ellie Power has a normal life. She has a stable home, a loving boyfriend, a future.

But at night, she suffers from a sleep disorder. She becomes angry, unpredictable, violent. Her mother locks her in her bedroom every night, to keep them both safe.

Then one morning, Ellie wakes up, horrified to find the lock on her bedroom door smashed from the inside. She is covered in injuries, unable to remember anything about the night before.

And her boyfriend Matt is nowhere to be found…

What a debut!

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was kindly offered the chance to read the book by the author herself. I was under no obligation to actually write a review for it but how could I not.

It took me less than 4 hours to read (closer to three hours).

I was hooked from the first words that I read on page one right until the final page.

Ellie Power suffers from something called dissociative identity disorder. This essentially means she has an alter ego and this alter ego has a name, Siggy. Ellie can always feel this other person inside of her but Siggy only comes out to play at night.

The girls, Ellie and Siggy seem to be polar opposites. Ellie is kind, she volunteers at a hospital entertaining children and she has a steady boyfriend, Matt - who also works at the hospital. On the other hand there's Siggy who seems to live with a horrid sense of fear which presents itself as anger and violence and it is normally Ellie's mum who bares the brunt of this behaviour.

Every night Christine (Ellie's mum) locks her daughter in her bedroom because Siggy's actions are so unpredictable and sometimes dangerous so when one morning the bedroom door is found to be ripped open and stains of mud and blood are discovered, the feeling of apprehension rises. More so because Matt - the last one to see Ellie the previous evening - is nowhere to be found.

In steps Detective Mae, who is the man in charge of finding Matt. The less important question at this point is can he remain professional when it becomes clear that he has a connection to Ellie and a past she'd rather forget!

What a phenomenal concept, one that translated well over the pages. Told from dual points of view, both Ellie and Mae, we get a real insight into both characters and as the tension builds I found myself really rooting for both of them.

This is a novel that was extremely well thought out.

And in the end you wonder can everything really be as it seems? Is it Siggy who can't be trusted or perhaps Ellie is the one who needs to be watched.

Suspicions rise as you turn the pages and everything escalates at a rapid rate.

This is a thriller driven by mental health, it's fast paced and highly believable. Kate has weaved an intricate web of lies and deceit and I was stuck in the middle of it.

As I read, there were many theories that came to mind, I was surprised by the end results. Dramatic would be an understatement. What transpires in Lock Me In is frightening and its originality should be applauded.

You'll need time on your hands to read this one as you won't want to put it down!