Originally published: eBook 10 October 2019; Paperback 14 November 2019

Author: Alex Lake

Published by: HarperCollins

Genre: Thriller

Page count: 432

Reading dates: 22-23 October 2019

Seven Days is about Maggie, a 15 year old girl who is abducted and kept imprisoned in a basement by a man, whom she doesn’t know.  As the book starts, she has been kept there for 12 years and has been tortured and raped over and over and in that time has given birth to 3 sons.  Her first two sons, Seb and Leo, were both taken from her by the man on their third birthdays and Maggie has never known what happened to them.  What she does know is that it is only seven days until her third son Max turns three and she is not going to let it happen again.

What a romping great thriller this was.  I had a night when I wasn’t able to sleep and I’d just started this book – unfortunately it didn’t help me get to sleep because I couldn’t stop reading it!  It is one of the best page turners I have read for a long time – the chapters are short and from multiple viewpoints which made me want to race through to find out what happened next.

We hear from Maggie, as she is abducted, realises what has happened and has to come to terms with her existence living in a basement alone.  We also hear from Maggie in the present time – she who obviously loves Max very much and will do anything to stop him being taken from her. We also hear from Maggie’s parents and brother again as they realise she is missing and then over the next 12 years as they have to live their lives never knowing what happened.

A really tense read, I liked the way it skipped about through different points of view and timelines – one minute my imagination was filled with the horror Maggie must have felt at being imprisoned, the next I felt the tension as Maggie wonders how she is going to escape with Max or if she will again have her child taken.  As a parent I can’t imagine how you carry on in that situation!

I read Room by Emma Donoghue back in 2011 and I did wonder if this was going to be similar but actually, although the basic idea was the same they are very different in the nature of the story.  Room is narrated by the child Jack, and focuses more on the psychological effects felt by the Jack and his Ma after escaping from their room.  Seven Days is much more of a thriller.

A brilliant read, exciting and full of tension, you won’t be able to put this book down!  I was lucky enough to be one of 7 bookstagrammers to receive this book and I absolutely loved it.  Thank you Ellie for sending me a proof.

About the author:

Alex Lake is a British novelist who was born in the North West of England. After Anna, the author’s first novel written under this pseudonym, was a No.1 bestselling ebook sensation and a top-ten Sunday Times bestseller. The author now lives in the North East of the US.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alexlakeauthor