The perfect psychological thriller with one of the best plots I’ve read lately and hauntingly realistic – if you like the thrills and an intense, quick read, Inside Out by Chris McGeorge is the book for you.

The plot:

SHE WAS SET UP…
One morning she wakes up to find her cellmate murdered – shot in the head with a gun that is missing. The door was locked all night, which makes Cara the only suspect.

BUT THAT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING.
Cara needs to clear her name, unravelling an impossible case, with an investigation governed by a prison timetable. But as Cara starts to learn more about North Fern and the predicament she is in, she finds connections between the past and present that she never could have imagined.

Indeed it seems that her conviction and her current situation might be linked in very strange ways…

Chris McGeorge is now cemented as a first-class thriller writer in my head

This book reminds me why I just adore thrillers and is my go-to genre. As a blogger, I try to read from different genres, but then a book like Inside Out comes along and fills you with excitement from the get-go. This book ticks all the boxes for me when it comes to the genre – fast-paced, killer plot twist, an intense and important or realistic plot, a bit of gore, a bit of scare (some bits really got my heart racing), and the ending. YES YES YES.

I thoroughly enjoyed Guess Who by this author, which is like a locked-door mystery thriller, and I definitely judged by the cover when I bought it and was not disappointed. I judged the cover for Inside Out, except Chris McGeorge is now cemented as a first-class thriller writer in my head and I’ll be seeking out his other book, Now You See Me, and any future books without the judging.

It’s a fairly difficult book to review without spoilers, but I will say that it’s entirely unpredictable. You get a few clues if you’re an avid thriller reader and know what to look for, and it all started to click into my head as the protagonist was working it out and I LOVE this feeling!

The book is split into three parts – do be careful if you like to see how far away you are from another part, as you’ll spoil the read fairly quickly. The book has a fantastic flow – McGeorge has done it in a way which makes perfect sense when you finish the book, but at the time can seem irrelevant.

You’re immediately thrown into the deep end, which I also loved about Guess Who. You’re already given food-for-thought within the prologue, and the first part is shaped around Cara being transferred to North Fern up to the point of her cellmate’s murder. I was definitely curious and loved the build-up to finding out why Cara is where she is, and didn’t even notice 100 pages fly by.

There’s lots of conversation and often short paragraphs to break up the flow and offer those fantastic cliff-hangers we all love. I would recommend not reading this on your lunch-break, because I stopped reading at a pivotal moment, and the next 5 hours were not ok.

I haven’t been this excited about a thriller in months – all the books I’ve been reading lately have had thriller-y elements, but this book had it all.

There were several jaw-dropping moments, and a believable but ‘what the fuuuuuuuuuck’ plot twist which just slots in perfectly. As I say, I did guess a few minor details, but nothing could’ve prepared me. My mind was definitely blown by the ending.

I just loved Inside Out. An easy 5-stars, and any fellow thriller reader will easily understand why.

For fans of Daniel Cole, without the police procedural element. Take one thing away with you: read this book.

Inside Out, Chris McGeorge, RRP £8.99 (paperback); Book Depository

Pages: 402

Publisher: Orion

Genre: Thriller