Review: Crushed by Kate Hamer @Kate_Hamer @Faberbooks

Has anyone ever had book love at first sight? Well, this is how I felt when I first saw Crushed by Kate Hamer. Her publicist team was looking for bloggers to read and review, I looked at my huge TBR pile and thought one more won’t hurt. Aren’t I glad I ignored the to be read pile guilt!

Crushed has been published by Faber & Faber, was published in e-book format on the 30th April 2019 and hardback / paperback on the 2nd of May, which means that you don’t have to wait to read it!!
The Blurb

“Phoebe stands on Pulteney Bridge, tights gashed from toe to thigh. The shock of mangled metal and blood-stained walls flashes through her mind as she tries to cover her face so she won’t be recognised. It wouldn’t do to be spotted looking like this. She’s missing a shoe. She feels sick. Phoebe thought murder and murder happened. Thoughts are just thoughts, they said. Now she knows they were wrong.

At home, Phoebe arranges the scissors and knives so they point toward her mother’s room. She is exhausted, making sure there’s no trace of herself – not a single hair, not even her scent – left anywhere in the house. She must not let her thoughts unravel, because if they do, there’s no telling who might be caught in the crossfire, and Phoebe will have to live with the consequences.”

*We are welcomed on the first page to a Macbeth quote, now if you’ve read this Shakespearian play you would know that the main storyline concerns that of a prophecy given by three witches given to Macbeth, who has been told that one day he will become the King of Scotland. After Macbeth kills the King, he is wracked with guilt and paranoia; forced to commit more murders to prevent him from suspicion.*
My Thoughts

Crushed gave me that instant sort of chills feeling, the ones you natural get when you can feel something eerie fast approaching and gosh I was not wrong or disappointed. The three main characters that are fully entwined in one another’s like are given individual personalities and chapters in which we learn about them and their home life. I liked that the three adolescent female were given centre stage, in much the same way as the witches of Macbeth. I’ve provided a mini breakdown of the characters!

Phoebe: We learn about Phoebe from the blurb, she’s bared witness to a horrific murder that she thinks that she has made happen with her mind. Phoebe lives at home with an overbearing mother and laid back father, due to which she has become quite the rebellious teenager who has fallen for an unsuitable individual.
Orsa: A sheltered teenager, again with an overbearing and remarkably needy mother. Out of all three of the girls, I think Orsa is the most emotionally mature and kind natured, although she is very anxious.
Grace: Needy mother, loves her mother but gets so frustrated and angry. Mother tends to control a large portion of her life, from going out to types of female hygiene products she uses. I felt as though she was stuck in this whole Stockholm Syndrome type living situation.

Yes, you’ve noticed that all girls have unbearable home lives, if you’ve ever been a teenage girl you just can’t help with slightly connecting with them. As teenagers, who thinks their parents understood them! Due to this they all have found attention outside of their homes but as events start to develop and snowball into larger more deadly events they must keep a united front before their wrong doings are uncovered. I really did appreciate the way that the characters were developed!

The storyline is split into act 1 – 3; beginning, middle and end, with each act your heart pounds a little quicker and you can feel yourself reading open mouthed as events start to unravel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to readers who want a compulsive page turner type read. The storyline was clearly planned to the final details and superbly wrapped up! I will be shouting about this read for a long time! It’s also given me a kick up the bum to purchase Macbeth because if this read is anything to go by, it is just as creepy!

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I would definitely recommend this read for loves of psychological thrillers, Kate Hamer has a fantastic knack for writing awesome reads!

Thank-you for reading my review, if you’re a reader who has already read Crushed, what are your thoughts on it? Let me know in the comments!