Rachel is a mess, she’s up to her eyes in debt and has overstayed her welcome in a friend’s house share. She could ask her Dad for help, but she is too ashamed. So, when Michael offers her a job as a marketing consultant, she jumps at the chance even though both of them know she has no experience at all. It all starts well, but then Michael raises concerns and Rachel is moved to the basement with the techies……and to get to the basement she has to use a Trap Door. This is the same basement where 22 people had reportedly died in a sweatshop fire 100 years ago…..Rachel has a morbid fear of fire after her friend Phillip had died in a fire 10 years before. She’s working alongside the techies and the masked, silent Keats which really adds to the tension. When she gets trapped alone in the dark basement, she hears her name and begins to wonder who would want to scare her so much. Every day becomes a nightmare and she no longer knows what’s real…..Can she find the truth before it’s too late? I can’t say too much more for fear of spoilers, but it’s a tale of secrets, family and betrayals with a dark, twisty and claustrophobic plot, so full of tension it’s an utterly gripping psychological thriller from start to finish. I really enjoyed every fear filled minute. Thank you to Bloodhound Books for a free ecopy of Trap Door. This is my honest and unbiased review.

I have heard so many good things about Dreda’s books, that when I was offered an advance copy of Trap Door to read, I jumped at the chance. I was immediately drawn to the plot of this story and couldn’t wait to dive in and get underway. When I did, I was hooked right from the get-go and had trouble tearing myself away from it. Dreda wastes no time in kicking things off, which she does in spectacular fashion, with a chilling prologue that sets up the rest of the story extremely well. It is addictive, scary in some parts, downright terrifying in others and had me holding my breath and breaking out in a sweat multiple times. There are a few characters in the book and interestingly Dreda has only used one to be the main voice of the whole story. A risky move, as I have read some books where the author has not been able to pull this off, but Dreda has created Rachel with so much depth, that she is able to carry the story on her shoulders well and keeps the readers attention for the duration. The supporting characters are well written and developed and each one has there own set of complexities and secrets to hide, which adds to the drama of the story. This is the first book I have read from Dreda and I really enjoyed the ease of her writing that just flowed, making this is a quick and enjoyable read. She definitely knows how to get and keep the reader’s attention and she did a great job in making me feel everything that Rachel went through. Being claustrophobic, there were times when I had to take myself away from it to get my heart rate back in control, where I would then jump back into it flicking the pages on my kindle furiously as Dreda kept on building up the tension and suspense, which then lead me to the thrilling and satisfying conclusion. Trap Door is everything and more in what I love from a psychological suspense book and even though this is only the first book I have read from Dreda, she absolutely nails this genre. With an intriguing plot and great characterisation that is all captured through engaging and visual writing, Trap Door has it all and I am really looking forward to seeing what Dreda will come up with next. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to read and review Trap Door which I highly recommend. Thank-you to Heather Fitt from Bloodhound Books for inviting me to the publication day party and for providing me with a copy of the ebook of Trap Door which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.