Fantastic read set in two contrasting backdrops, South Georgia and Cambridge, reflecting the different characters and ‘split’ personalities being portrayed. The dramatic opening is set in South Georgia where the severe physical conditions are reflected in the story. A woman, Felicity, is seemingly going to extreme lengths to get away from her ex, travelling to the end of the earth to do so. She carelessly leaves sufficient clues for him to follow. Throughout we hear from the different characters POVs. MovIng back to 9 months earlier in Cambridge, Felicity’s story becomes more complex with strange occurrences, frightening voices and her fear of being watched. Other traumatic issues are revealed under hypnosis with her therapist Joe and more questions are asked than answered. The story twists and turns until like Felicity, the reader can’t tell real from imaginary and delves into early childhood trauma, mental health issues, psychosis, fear, violence and love. A thrilling read which keeps you glued to the page for answers until the end. With thanks to Netgalley and Orion for an advance copy

Wow! This is a little belter of a book. It starts edgy with one of a specialised research team working out on a remote island off the coast of South Georgia, in the Antarctic, getting together plans to make herself scarce after Freddie Llyod had written to her telling her he was coming. Freddie had been released from prison after serving a sentence for murder and now he had found her. No-one knows about her past, except Freddie Llyod. Felicity is a glaciologist, the descriptions of her work were absolutely fascinating. I could have read a book just about her and what she did there. The story bounces between Freddie, Felicity’s attempts to stay hidden until the boat leaves again with Freddie on it and a mysterious woman that has remarkable fighting and survival skills that has caused a stir on the Island. The story falls back to Cambridge and sessions with Dr Joe Grant, a psychiatrist that Felicity is seeing on a professional level. She becomes very much the damsel in distress with Grant being the one to pick up the pieces. This is such a racy story that didn’t give me time to return back to any sort of reality in my own life. It pushed me past edgy, it pushed me to insanity. I loved this book. The characters are superb, the research top notch and the storyline just blew me away. My best read of the year so far. Stunning! I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

You know you are always in safe hands with a Sharon Bolton thriller... 'safe' meaning hang on tight this will be tense, twisty and your head will have to RUN as the pace picks up with each page! Sharon sets the scenes brilliantly whether you are at home or out in the icy wilderness, the writing is superb. Your heart lurches for each character as the plot unfolds. I feel for whichever book you read next as this is a very hard act to follow.

I was not expecting this book to open on the Island of Georgia wher Felicity is studying a possible ice plug underwater. Calm collected at her job it all seems to be going well. But then you get a sense of her underlying fear as they head back to base and she spies a cruise ship at the docks. One left to arrive for the season then she'll be safe? A letter holds the clue. We jump back 9 months to Felicity in Cambridge. She has to be seen to try to want the counselling and get good feedback otherwise her job could be at risk and she feels an opportunity is about to open up with a job abroad studying ice. Joe looks at her files but there's not much to go on. She seems keen to act like she's better... He himself has just got back from an ordeal that has left him jumpy. Someone's watching. Always watching. Things are not it what they seem. As things got stranger, I thought I knew where this book was going. For a good while it ticked along at a decent pace. Then I realised I'd got it somewhat wrong. Then the storyline crashed open and I couldn't read fast enough. No spoilers to ruin it. But yes, I was asking questions and along with Felicity, not all were being answered fully. I was very concerned for her and not totally trusting anybody by the time we got back to the niw part. Crikey! I thought Sharon Bolton's last book was great but The Split left me reeling in a different way. I didn't see it coming. Definitely pick this up if you like a thriller that plays with your mind & makes you check your windows and locks - twice - before you go to bed. (As an aside I thought Joe's mentors' name was rather cool and think he should have his own book - fictional crush on a name, I know) A quick Thank you to Sam Eades and Orion Publishers for my early proof copy.

Felicity is the main character, a Glaciologist with a complex past that threatens to destroy her. The first part of the book is set in South Georgia and is so beautifully descriptive I felt I was there. I could clearly visualise the stunning scenery and imagine the smells and sounds so vividly. What a fantastic and clever visual story teller Sharon Bolton is. Felicity’s life has begun to unravel and her past is catching up with her. She thought leaving to work in South Georgia would keep her safe but the very thing she feared most has followed her there. The book brilliantly brings her story to a head with a mixture of characters and stories that twist, turn and dramatically culminate in murder and suspicion. It travels between South Georgia and Cambridge and is clever, twisty and psychological. I never wanted to put the book down and when I did I couldn’t wait to pick it up again. Brilliant!