The Place That Never Existed by Jim Ody - Blog Tour Review

Today on Life Of A Nerdish Mum I am part of the blog tour for The Place That Never Existed by Jim Ody and I am sharing my review of the book. 

The Place That Never Existed

For Paul and Debbie it was meant to be the happiest time of their lives – a small village wedding in front of their family and friends, followed by a quiet honeymoon in Devon. Not everyone was happy to see them together. Someone from the past was intent on ending their marriage before it had really started. Now, supposedly away from it all in a picturesque log cabin, Paul and Debbie find themselves in the midst of mysterious happenings. Unexplained disappearances with people turning up dead, and all of it centred on the site of an horrific murder. A place the locals wish was a place that never existed. 

My Review

The writing in The Place That Never Existed is beautiful, however I did struggle with it at first as it's unlike anything I've read before, but once you get into the rhythm then it's so very enjoyable and well written. I found myself picking out lines to remember because of how well constructed they were and how much of an impact they had on me while reading. He also uses comedy and mentions of popular culture really well to lighten the tone at times.  

Throughout the book I was chilled to the bone as the overall feel of the book was so very creepy and I never knew what was going on. Jim Ody weaves a tale of suspense and then the closer to the end it gets, the threads all get tighter and come together for the ending which was completely unexpected. 

I really liked the characters of Debbie and Paul and I enjoyed their relationship. It was nice to see what they thought of each other through their thoughts and the fun that they had together. I always find it refreshing to see a couple together in thrillers and crime books. 

There's very little I can say about the story without giving anything away, but it is extremely clever and well thought out and is full of surprises that I really didn't expect. 

Whatever your expectations of The Place That Never Existed are, just take them and throw them out the window as it'll be like nothing you could have expected. If you want to check out a new author this year, definitely check out Jim Ody. 

About The Author 

Jim Ody appeared on Getting To Know... earlier this year so for more information about him, go check that out here.

As a child Jim wanted to be a truck driver - more specifically Kris Kristofferson in the movie 'Convoy', however somehow this never happened, nor did he ever smuggle moonshine in Hazzard County, find treasure with his buddies in the Goondocks, or hunt sharks on Amity Island. He did win ‘The Spirit Of Judo’ award as a seven-year-old, and have published his design of a ‘Dog-Walking Machine’ in an English text book at the age of ten; so every cloud and all of that…

Jim has had poems and articles published on a number of websites, and for eight years, was a weekly music reviewer for a popular music website where he got to meet bands and see free gigs.

Jim has published two books 'Lost Connections' and 'The Place That Never Existed', and had his short story, 'The Moth In The Jar' selected and published in the charity anthology 'Dark Minds'.

Jim lives with his wife and three children in Swindon, Wiltshire, and is currently writing his next novel 'A Cold Retreat' (due out in summer 2017); and more than likely eating chocolate. And watching football.

Don't Forget To Check Out The Rest Of The Tour