Sanctuary Rock is a perfect place.

A remote island, owned by a wealthy philanthropist who is building a brand-new world on the ruins of the old one.

Ben only came to the island to bring his fiancée Cara home. But when he arrives, he is rapidly seduced by the vision of a better way of life, as described by the charismatic and mysterious Sir John.

Before long, he decides to stay.

But the island holds darker secrets than he could ever have suspected.

Then he learns the only route back to the mainland is about to close for good.

And his own life may be in terrible danger . . .

32 Chapters | 391 Pages | 3 Parts | 3h Read | Paperback

I might have just read the most thought-provoking book of the year! I’ll start by saying that I bought this book believing it to be a murder mystery thriller – I couldn’t have been further from the truth. You could class this book as a thriller but not a crime. It could be classed as dystopian but honestly, I struggled where to place it.

The story follows Ben Parr, an artist and is told in first person from his perspective. It took me a little while to create the story in my mind, as, while there was significant worldbuilding, there was nothing to lock in location and I struggled in understanding the setting.

As far as I can fathom, I believe this story is set in a dystopian future either the UK or a European Country.

The Sanctuary becomes much more than the name of the book and becomes something that shapes the characters out of the written word. It is very complicated to review this book without giving anything away as it is definitely a book you need to experience yourself.

As far as the premise or blurb goes, Ben travels to The Sanctuary in search of his fiancée Cara who started working there 6 months previous and has just announced by letter that she isn’t returning. You can imagine, of course, that this is barely scratching the surface.

Ben is an artist, a creative, a romantic. Every part of his personality is opposite to what he walks into, and that clash is a big part of what makes the book so good. There is another character, Bianca, who shares many of the pages with Ben and she is simultaneously depicted as: rebellious, a happy hippy, free-spirited, sick, and mentally unhealthy.

The character of Bianca gives a lot but still left me thinking that there was much to her left unsaid. In contrast, I found Ben to be an open book and resonated with his position as an outsider looking in.

Cara, though the love of Ben’s life, appears as a character in but a fleeting manner. I had many theories about her as the story progressed. At times I was overly optimistic and at other times I felt almost a cold realisation of her whereabouts. I was most wrong in all my predictions about her.

If you have ever played the Bioshock games, this story reminded me of them. There were elements that were so craftily constructed that I didn’t see them coming and moments when I felt there was a monster lurking over my shoulder.

When I finished the book, I handed it to my Mum and she asked if I enjoyed it. “Yes,” I said. Mum said it sounded like a ‘but’ was coming.

This book challenged my thoughts and made me think of the bigger picture and to a larger extent the world we live in. In honesty, however, there is a but. There was a strangling cord of tension in this book that got tighter the more I read and though I endured the adrenaline the book brought out of me, I also cannot ignore the bad taste it left me with or the nausea I felt after finishing the book.

I give this book: ⭐⭐⭐⭐