The Poison Tree

This book made me uncomfortable, but not in an unpleasant way.

"The Poison Tree", is one of those dark thrillers that constantly keep you on edge, because of its unpredictability. Seeing that this is a debut novel by this author, I must say that it must have taken a lot of work to create something this chilling and darkly magical.

It made me want to get into the mind of the author, and understand what her thought process was when she was writing this book.

"The Poison Tree" starts with a chilling prologue that sees Karen, one of the main characters in a panicked state after she receives a call we know absolutely nothing about.
Minutes later, she gets into her car and drives to an unknown destination.
And it almost seemed to me like something out of a potentially satisfying crime or horror movie.

"The Poison Tree" is a crime thriller, that brings three different people together one sizzling summer, and leaves two of them dead.

The book travels through the 90s, and the present era, with carefully and intricately woven plots that constantly leaves readers at the edge of their seats.

It's the 90s, particularly 1997, when Karen Clarke, a smart final year university student at Queen Charlotte's college comes across a fellow student that will potentially change the entire trajectory of her life forever.

The said student, Biba-Bathsheba-Capel, an aspiring actress, a theatre student, and the daughter to a movie executive, first asks Karen, for help in translating and accent tutoring.

Their 'friendship' begins almost immediately, and Karen is immediately introduced to a life she knows nothing about.
From drugs to drama, to alcohol, to dangerous adventures, the glamorous, over the top Biba, will stop at nothing to ensure that Karen is fully initiated into the wild 'exciting' life.

Karen believes the summer she meets Biba is that once-in-a-lifetime summer every teen gets to experience, and it doesn't take long before she's fully immersed in Biba's world.

But things are not always what they seem, because that summer changes the entire trajectory of Karen's life, and sees her living with secrets, guilt and even murder for a very long time.

There were so many things to love about this novel.
First was the suspense that spanned the entire length of the plot, starting from the past, 1997, and the present ,ten years later.

Apparently, the decisions Karen and Biba took that summer, has completely affected their lives in more ways than one and we get to see the plot carefully unravelled, like a precious Christmas gift, and we even get to see why Karen was spooked by a mere phone call, at the prologue of the book.

It's also a testament to the fact that your past decisions, never quite let you go.

Another likeable things about this novel, is the way the transition between the past and present is so fluid.

I expected some sort of narrative blunder, even just a little by the author while she was trying to transition between the past and the present seeing that this was her debut novel, but there was absolutely no jarring in momentum, and it absolutely one of the things that kept me continuously flipping the pages of this novel.

The suspense in this novel was electrifying. Sure, you could predict a few twists in the plot, but absolutely nothing could prepare you for the eventual climax.

Were there any favorite characters? Not really but I liked Biba.
She wasn't exactly a model character, and made some pretty bad decisions, but she is the sort of person that brings a breath of fresh air to any plot.

Don't get me wrong, I hold nothing against Karen, but we only got to see the exciting part of Karen when Biba came into her life.

She made the novel exciting to read, and was exactly the model for teenagers who made bad decisions.

Did I mention, that there are more exciting parts of this novel, like Karen getting hooked with Biba's big brother Rex, that makes for an exciting plot development?

And that murder might not be an exciting topic, but made for an exciting plot, and an equally satisfying climax?

Do I recommend? Yes I do. If you're a lover of dark crime thrillers, with just a little addition of spooky, and a tiny dose of teenage drama, then you should read this book.

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