Iseult Murphy

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: 7 Days in Hell

Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours for providing me with a copy for an honest review!

Vicky and her twin sister Irene are ready to kick back and relax in the country. Although when Vicky finds out there’s no wi-fi or cell service in their cabin, she starts to second guess their vacation. But the longer the two sisters stay, the quicker Vicky will realize no internet is the least of her worries. Something strange is going on. Every night Vicky is woken up by crowds roaring in the distance. And a parade of cars drives by the cabin every day at 3 in the morning. But when the sisters start to investigate the nighttime activities, they’ll wish they never went on vacation.

The writing style for 7 Days in Hell is cleverly done. Each chapter is another day the sisters stay in the village of Basard. And each chapter becomes progressively more horrific as they begin to unearth the darkness within the village. What starts off as simple things that seem amiss, turns into a truly horrific and mind-numbing experience for both girls. And when it comes to portraying horrific gore, Iseult Murphy’s writing crawls beneath the skin and sets your stomach churning.

I will admit though that some of the choices the sisters made didn’t make sense to me. I felt like certain encounters and oddities they came across should have lit red flags immediately. Instead, they sort of shrugged them off. I think the tension that would have been created from questioning more, in the beginning, would have benefitted the story. The sisters would have seemed a bit more realistic to me.

Although the characters might not have picked up on the suspicions I felt, I loved the sense of never quite knowing the whole picture. You’ll read about situations and people being off, and it drives you into having to read more. Should you be doubting what is happening and people’s intentions? Iseult Murphy has a way of making you second guess everything you think you know. If you are a fan of occult horror, give this one a try.… (més)