Save Me – Proper Manc Psychological Thriller

Mandasue Heller over recent years has become one of the leading authors in Manc Noir and in specific she knows how to write a Psychological thriller. Once again, Save Me, proves why she is one of Britain’s best authors, as she will always keep the reader on their toes, and leave you wondering how the story will end. Even then it comes as surprise, or does it?

Ellie is late home from work, and her husband Matt will not be happy as he will have to entertain her sister Holly and her new fella. While waiting for the train to arrive, she sees a man climbing of the to the wrong side of a bridge about the railway. She manages to talk the guy down, so he doesn’t kill himself, she then goes home to her husband sulking at her.

At lunch time at work, the guy she stopped from killing herself, has the uncanny act of appearing where she eats. When he appears on Christmas day with her sister, things start taking a turn from strange to weird. Matt becomes more jealous, seemingly accusing her of sleeping around and Ellie really cannot take it.

When Matt calls time on Ellie and goes to stay with a friend, Gareth (suicidal guy) seems to appear and always ready to help her out. When Matt then stabs her step father, he gets even close to Ellie, but she cannot see how obsessive he has become. How that obsession will end, even though Ellie does seem blind to it, things do not look good.

Ellie is a character at times just makes you want to scream, you want her to open her eyes to what is happening around her. But she is not willing to do that, is it love? Or just away of avoiding an argument? But, she is a reminder of many people who get trapped in relationships and while everyone else can see something wrong, they are too close to see.

Save Me is a gritty crime thriller, with plenty of psychological twists that just shows what a confident writer Mandasue Heller really is. Fantastic read! ( )

Have to hand it to Ellie - she certainly knows how to pick'em! She is naive beyond belief and needs a good talking to as she is extremely irritating, letting everyone walk all over her, a proper little "yes" girl. A character such as Gareth wouldn't have been in the position he was when Ellie and he first met and I felt that was really contrived, as was the complete change in another character from totally selfish to caring in just a couple of pages. It was hard to like anyone at all in this book! I found the first half a bit slow and all just a bit predictable, but did love some of the dialogue. Not as gritty or gripping as the gang land books, but still readable. ( )

This review contains minor spoilers....On first blush Save Me reads like a soap opera examining the lives of many characters, focusing on emotional relationships to the point of melodrama...Ellie loves Matt but falls for inept and deranged Gareth. Holly, sister to Ellie, not only has an affair with Matt but also with socially unbalanced Gareth. Ellie's stepfather Billy made advances towards Ellie in her youth but has much more serious issues to confront as the story develops. Matt is hyper-sensitive, suffers from depression and is unable to acquire or hold down a job. And so the soap continues but having said all that I really enjoyed reading "Save Me" it's not a book of any real literary intent or a story that examines in any dept the characters but it doesn't purport to be this. It's simple light reading, a book that you can happily return to at any point without having lost the main thread, a book for the summer vacation, or reading as you journey by train or bus.
I think the author creates a very evil and controlling Gareth because it is his story that is the centre of all the events as they unfold...."See what you've made me do now? he hissed when her body went limp and her eyes rolled to the back of their sockets. That was your fault, not mine! All I'm trying to do is help you, so why did you have to start fighting with me?" Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in return for an honest review. It surprised me I usually prefer to be educated in my choice of reading but sometimes it is best to just enjoy without being over critical. ( )