Hello and welcome to the next stop in THE TELLING blog tour. I'm so thrilled to have author Alexandra Sirowy on the blog today. Below you can read Alexandra's guest post, find out more about her book, and don't forget to enter to win! Welcome Alexandra!
GUEST POST
My Favorite Island-Set Thrillers and Mysteries by Alexandra Sirowy
The idea for THE TELLING came while I was staying on an island in the Puget Sound. Every morning I sat on the edge of a dock that reached out like a limb into the harbor. The tree logged hills trapped the fog. Sunlight was diffused by the clouds, smearing lines, making everything seem out of focus and not quite real. This was a seemingly-idyllic place with sailboats dotting the horizons and teenagers surrounding bonfires on the beaches at dusk. A fictive island as eerie as alluring, as feral as it is privileged, took root in my head. The kind of place where the impossible seems possible; where secrets and lies hide beneath its glittering façade; and where mysterious events take on a nearly enchanted feeling.
The two main characters, a step-sister and brother, have childhoods rich in make-believe and cast themselves as the heroes of their stories. This is before. THE TELLING begins after, with a mysterious murder, a secret past, and the girl, Lana, setting out to become the hero of her imagination.
Welcome to Gant Island, the fictional setting of THE TELLING.
Imagine. You’re surrounded by indigo waters beating rocky headlands. The only way on or off the island is by ferry or boat. Little wonder there’s a long and spooky tradition of setting thrillers and mysteries on islands: the private island playgrounds of eccentric elites; the wild and untamed shores that castaways wash up on; the stunning but fierce islands with lighthouses like jewels in their crowns; and the remotest of the bunch, those isolated from the rest of the world, where no one would hear you scream.
They all have something in common. Escape is not easy.
Here are a few of my favorite island-set suspense novels.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Beechwood Island
A private family island in New England. Summer cottages. Winding beach trails. Privilege. Secrets. Lies. Family drama. Lazy days of games with the cousins. An accident. And a twisted ending I didn’t see coming. This book is irresistible, romantic, jarring, provoking, and one of my all-time favorites.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Soldier Island
Arguably Agatha Christie’s most famous work. I love the whole concept of the private island – private, isolated land, where anything could happen. Ten strangers are summoned to a rich, eccentric’s private island off the shore of Devon. But their host is nowhere to be found and unknown by all of the guests. One by one they’re picked off. A smashing whodunit that kept me guessing until the bitter end.
Lord of Flies by William Golding
Deserted island in the Coral Sea
My first story of survival. I bet many of us carry characters like bespectacled, rational Piggy close to our hearts, always. I’ve never looked at spectacles or a conch shell without remembering. What becomes of this band of boys who are trapped on this deserted island is chilling, and watching the society they’ve built ratchet out of control thrilling until its conclusion.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
Hedestad and Hedeby Islands
Though not all of this book takes place on the islands, arguably some of its most iconic, bleak, and suspenseful scenes do, including the dark, twisted climax. Lisbeth Salander is one of my favorite anti-heroes, fictional feminists, and the protagonist of the entire Millennium series.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Prince Edward Island
I’m cheating with this one. It’s not a thriller or a mystery. But being an adolescent girl is really difficult and Anne Shirley goes through it to come out the other side of young adulthood. Hers is a story of survival, just a touch more lighthearted than the other titles on this list. Anne of Green Gables was also the first island-set book that I read – it’s responsible for my entire love affair with islands (and boys who can be mean but who won’t – but that’s a story for another day).
What are your favorite island-set books?
ABOUT THE BOOK
ABOUT THE BOOK
By: Alexandra Sirowy
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Released on: August 2nd, 2016
Purchase from: Amazon
Add it to Goodreads
Lana used to know what was real.
That was before when her life was small and quiet.
Her golden step-brother, Ben, was alive, she could only dream about bonfiring with the populars, their wooded island home was idyllic, she could tell the truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were firmly in her imagination.
Then came after.
After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into the water from too high up, and living with nerve and mischief. But after also has horrors, deaths that only make sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought long forgotten: Love, blood, and murder.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandra Sirowy is the author of the young adult thrillers THE CREEPING and THE TELLING. Alexandra attended a women's college for her undergraduate work in International Relations and later received her graduate degree in International Studies with an emphasis on the Middle East. When she isn't writing, she enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, and exploring the foothills and woods near the Northern California home she and her husband share with their dog.
Find Alexandra online via: her Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
THE GIVEAWAY
Thank you to Alexandra, today we're giving away 5 signed ARCS of THE TELLING and some swag! This is open to residents in the US and Canada! To enter, please fill out the form below:
THE TOUR
Posts
Lovely tour post Katie. <3 Not heard of this one before. But ohh, I do like that cover :D Sounds like an interesting book.
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