Wednesday 26 October 2022

The Beaten Track by Louise Mangos #TheBeatenTrack @LouiseMangos @RedDogTweets #BookReview

 


She thinks she is safe now that she's home from her travels... but her nightmare has only just begun.

After her stalker takes his life and she's jilted by a holiday lover, Sandrine comes home from her round-the-world backpacking trip perturbed, penniless and pregnant. She meets handsome Scott who offers her love, security and all she and her new baby could ever wish for.

But their dream is about to turn into a nightmare...



The Beaten Track by Louise Mangos was published on 12 April 2022 by Red Dog Press. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

I read The Beaten Track on my flight home from Cyprus earlier this month and it kept me entertained throughout the journey. It's a tense story of how a stalker operates which gave me goosebumps in places. 

The prologue is dark and a bit creepy, we never quite know what's happening, or who to, but it's a gripping introduction that will guarantee that you continue and read more. 

The reader is then taken to January 1988, as Sandrine and her new baby wait to meet a friend for coffee. Sandrine appears to be fairly happy, she's recently started a new relationship and is settled. 

We  then go back in time as we accompany Sandrine as she is on her travels through Europe. She's backpacking, it's certainly not a glamour holiday and can be very rough and ready at times but Sandrine's narrative is great, the author really brings these places to life.

Whilst travelling, Sandrine meets Jake who narrates some of the story, and what a tense and creepy narration it is. Jake is obsessed with her, Sandrine is not so bothered about him. It's an almost voyeuristic experience to read his thoughts, and certainly made my heart beat a little faster at times. 

Without going into detail, the trip doesn't end so well for Sandrine, so it's something of a relief for the reader to realise that she's home safe. But is she? That's the big question and the author cleverly and skilfully answers it, eventually! 

Sinister and dark, this is a story that takes you on a journey that you don't expect. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more from the author. 



Louise Mangos grew up in the UK but has spent more than half her life in Switzerland.

Her debut psychological thriller Strangers on a Bridge was a finalist in the Exeter Novel Prize and long listed for the Bath Novel Award. 

Her second novel Her Husband's Secrets (previously titled The Art of Deception) was published in June 2019.

She lives on an Alp with her Kiwi husband and two sons, and when she's not writing you can find her on the cross-country ski trails or wild swimming in the lake, depending on the season.

She also writes short stories and flash fiction which have won prizes and been published in various anthologies. 

She has recently completed her MA in crime writing at UEA.

www.louisemangos.com








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