Stephanie Jane reviewed The Diary by Vikki Patis
An exciting and rewarding thriller
5 stars
I enjoyed Vikki Patis' short story collection, Weltanschauung, self-published almost exactly two years ago, so was delighted to see her get a publishing deal for The Diary, especially as I was then offered the chance to join its blog tour!
I'm not always a fan of the thriller genre because I don't like stories that sacrifice plausibility for excitement. I had no such concerns here though. I was hooked by Lauren's tale from practically the first page and just had to keep on reading to find out what would happen. Patis' characters felt familiar to me as I could remember similar people around me at the same age. I loved the details of both the present day and the decade earlier storylines. It says at the beginning of each chapter when they are set in the then or the now, but I found I could easily switch between periods with …
I enjoyed Vikki Patis' short story collection, Weltanschauung, self-published almost exactly two years ago, so was delighted to see her get a publishing deal for The Diary, especially as I was then offered the chance to join its blog tour!
I'm not always a fan of the thriller genre because I don't like stories that sacrifice plausibility for excitement. I had no such concerns here though. I was hooked by Lauren's tale from practically the first page and just had to keep on reading to find out what would happen. Patis' characters felt familiar to me as I could remember similar people around me at the same age. I loved the details of both the present day and the decade earlier storylines. It says at the beginning of each chapter when they are set in the then or the now, but I found I could easily switch between periods with necessarily noticing titles because clues such as the maturity of Lauren's outlook were strong identifiers. Detail can make or break atmosphere and believability so I am glad to say my attention wasn't ever ripped away by an inadvertent error or a hang-on-a-minute plothole! Thinking back over the story now, I am re-experiencing the tensions I felt whilst reading, and am still as convinced by the heartbreaking plot.
I don't want to drop any spoilers so am skirting around What Actually Happened to Lauren. It's a tad frustrating because I really want to breathlessly fangirl about The Diary! Perhaps it's enough to say that this is absolutely a novel for the here and now. I loved its themes and representations. Coming I hope The Diary finds its way onto a lot of TBR and Christmas lists. An exciting and rewarding thriller