Anne Carmichael’s Review of Forbidden

Had I not been asked to read ‘Forbidden’ by its author as part of a cooperative project among mystery writers (Mystery Thriller Week Annual Event), I would likely have missed the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and allow myself to be transported to the year 2047 in a land called Samarra, an Islamic city. Sadly, I also would have forfeited my seat on a fantastic thrill ride.

I read these nearly 400 pages in two evenings. I was compelled to keep turning the pages by the life-threatening events experienced by paramedic, Eliza, as she sought to help others while recovering from the loss of her husband and children in a tragic accident that she should not have survived.

Scenes of mass murder, imprisonment, passion and a culture which both mystified and frightened me carried me breathlessly from beginning to end and left me feeling sorry to find that the story had reached its conclusion.