Blog Tour (Review): The Terror Within by Linda Regan

Some books have intriguing plots that wind their way to the end, hooking you with just enough information to keep you interested. And some books take off like a rocket, shooting you into the action that continues at such a rapid pace it is nearly impossible to turn pages fast enough to keep up.

The Terror Within is squarely and solidly in the latter category. It quite literally left me breathless.

The author chose to start the story with a happy event before things went south, and that happened very quickly. Almost immediately, the reader is catapulted into the middle of riots that morph into something much more insidious and dangerous. And watch out for the twists (mini-spoiler?)

I thought that the author did an incredible job of keeping the plot moving with action flipping between three different locations. It was so seamless I felt like I was watching a movie – the cuts to each character or location happened that quickly.

I was also impressed with the level of detail the author had regarding the subject matter. Not just about police-work and hostage negotiation but about the perpetrators’ motivations as well.

And that is what I think stood out to me the most about this book. Aside from the pulse-pounding action, the bravery of the author to choose this topic in today’s overly-PC world was bold and unforgettable. The details of the perps’ past crimes and their reasons for their actions were both well-researched and accurate. I commend the author for daring to anger the “righteous indignation” crowd.

Brutality exists in the world. Better to shine a light on it and be aware than be afraid of offending someone. And these guys are brutal. Be forewarned, there is graphic detail of injuries and harming of other people. But for me, this made it all the more realistic and gritty and put it into my top reads of the year.

About Linda Regan

Linda is a successful actress, still best known for her portrayal of April, the sweet yellow-coat, in the BBC award winning comedy Hi-De-Hi. Other programmes she has appeared in include: The Bafta nominated Channel five series: Harry and Cosh, The Bill, London’s Burning, Minder, Gentle Touch, The Knock, a Lynda La Plante series: Framed, to name but a few. Also many films, a season with the RSC, and many good theatre roles. To date she has appeared in nearly a hundred commercials.

She has been writing all her life: short stories, radio, fact and fiction. Her first crime novel was published in 2006, and her subsequent novels have all received excellent reviews.