#My #Bookreview of #Thriller The Ninth Life by Jaye Marie @jaydawes2

The Ninth Life by Jaye Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Ninth Life is a psychological thriller set mainly in Guildford, Surrey.

Kate is a fifty-nine year old artist. She has an unusual voice in her head that provides commentary on her life; however, she has always tried to ignore what it says. Kate is currently working on a series of seascape pieces for Sam, a gallery owner and best friend, who is opening a new gallery in London.

We learn about Kate’s earlier life in a series of memories; her hardships, relationships and her current desire for solitude are all fed to us in easy-to-absorb chunks. Early on we are introduced to a sinister character who is besotted with her. As the story develops there is a slow build-up of tension, with a net of mishaps and murder that draw closer.

I liked Kate, with her artistic flair and disregard for most responsibility unless it was connected to her paintings. It became her coping mechanism in the face of underlying fears. Her passion for art shone through and I could almost see the paintings she so lovingly produced. Her back story was interesting and filled out her character, but the method of introducing it got a little repetitive towards the end. I did want to know a little more about those who loved Kate and, perhaps, what drew them to her. For me, there were so many unanswered questions about many of them, I would have enjoyed a little more to flesh out the characters.

Overall a good debut novel. If you like art and enjoy the thriller genre, then give this a go.

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Book Description

Nine Lives is the story of struggling and ageing artist Kate Devereau’s life as she tries to make sense of her often confusing existence.
She needs to understand what has been happening to her, and why she seems to have cheated death on so many occasions.
To understand why she has been plagued by the mysterious, tormenting voice in her head before it might be too late to do anything about it.

About the author

I am one half of a writing partnership.
I have been writing for a long time, and getting a bit old in the tooth now, but that hasn’t slowed me down at all, and can’t see anything changing in the future!

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