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The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (first published in 2014 by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
Please note: As this is the conclusion to a trilogy, this review may contain spoilers for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (book one) and The Evolution of Mara Dyer (book two)
Let me start off by saying that I really loved this trilogy. It’s not every day that you find a trilogy where you barely find any fault with all the books in the series, and for me, The Mara Dyer collection is pretty close to perfection.
When I first started reading the series, I was initially under the impression that I was simply reading a suspense novel with a paranormal focus of the vampire/werewolf affliction kind.
What I encountered instead was a book series that really didn’t want to fit into any genre per se, but one which, if I was hard-pressed to describe, could probably be categorised as a contemporary suspense novel, with medical and paranormal overtones.
If you’re interested in books that explore genetics and ethics in the medical research industry, paired with an added dose of horror for good measure, then this trilogy will be right up your alley. Throw in an unreliable narrator, a dual-narrative structure weaving between past and present and a mastermind manipulator and you have the recipe for a book that makes for the stuff of urban legends.
With this book being the conclusion to the trilogy, we find that things take a darker turn. Mara and her friends are trapped in the medical centre which was meant to help her. Instead, what was supposed to be a rehabilitation centre quickly becomes a place in which she and her friends have to fight their way out of in order to escape.
As they run for their lives, it quickly becomes apparent that the madness they’ve just escaped is only the beginning of the hell they’re about to face. And with Mara already struggling with her inner demons, it’s not long before the group start wondering if the danger isn’t Mara herself.
Fast-paced, gritty and gory, The Retribution of Mara Dyer had me enthralled from the get-go. It’s a book that plays with voice and messes with your emotions. It’s a read that will having you playing conspiracy theorist and one that will make you question everything you know about the human mind, genetic anomalies and that fine line between genius and insanity.
If that’s not something that will appeal to you, then I don’t know what will.
I’m actually sad it’s all over. But at least I can read it again.
Read more of my reviews on my YA book blog.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Keen on reading this book? Buy your copy now.
Read this book yet? Tell us what you thought of the book in the comment box below.
Sign up for Women24 book club newsletter and stand a chance to win our top ten books from takealot.com.
Please note: As this is the conclusion to a trilogy, this review may contain spoilers for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (book one) and The Evolution of Mara Dyer (book two)
Let me start off by saying that I really loved this trilogy. It’s not every day that you find a trilogy where you barely find any fault with all the books in the series, and for me, The Mara Dyer collection is pretty close to perfection.
When I first started reading the series, I was initially under the impression that I was simply reading a suspense novel with a paranormal focus of the vampire/werewolf affliction kind.
What I encountered instead was a book series that really didn’t want to fit into any genre per se, but one which, if I was hard-pressed to describe, could probably be categorised as a contemporary suspense novel, with medical and paranormal overtones.
If you’re interested in books that explore genetics and ethics in the medical research industry, paired with an added dose of horror for good measure, then this trilogy will be right up your alley. Throw in an unreliable narrator, a dual-narrative structure weaving between past and present and a mastermind manipulator and you have the recipe for a book that makes for the stuff of urban legends.
With this book being the conclusion to the trilogy, we find that things take a darker turn. Mara and her friends are trapped in the medical centre which was meant to help her. Instead, what was supposed to be a rehabilitation centre quickly becomes a place in which she and her friends have to fight their way out of in order to escape.
As they run for their lives, it quickly becomes apparent that the madness they’ve just escaped is only the beginning of the hell they’re about to face. And with Mara already struggling with her inner demons, it’s not long before the group start wondering if the danger isn’t Mara herself.
Fast-paced, gritty and gory, The Retribution of Mara Dyer had me enthralled from the get-go. It’s a book that plays with voice and messes with your emotions. It’s a read that will having you playing conspiracy theorist and one that will make you question everything you know about the human mind, genetic anomalies and that fine line between genius and insanity.
If that’s not something that will appeal to you, then I don’t know what will.
I’m actually sad it’s all over. But at least I can read it again.
Read more of my reviews on my YA book blog.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Keen on reading this book? Buy your copy now.
Read this book yet? Tell us what you thought of the book in the comment box below.
Sign up for Women24 book club newsletter and stand a chance to win our top ten books from takealot.com.
