A dark, compelling thriller from bestselling authors Sarah A. Denzil and Anni TaylorYoung backpackers Gemma and Hayley arrive at a remote mango farm, out of money and desperate for work. The farm’s owner, Tate Llewellyn, welcomes them in with open arms. An enigmatic, wealthy chemist, Tate spends his days running his hobby farm and cultivating rare orchids in his greenhouse.The weeks go on, a blur … weeks go on, a blur of fruit-picking, parties, campfires and wading beneath waterfalls in the nearby hot springs. Tate calls the girls his orchids…his pretty orchids.
Until the night the girls find themselves on a dark highway, bruised and bloodied.
How did everything go so wrong?
Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti question the terrified girls. But Hayley and Gemma are telling two very different stories of what happened to them over the past three months.
Which story is the truth and what are the girls covering up?
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Twisty! Exciting! Addictive! Thrilling! Suspenseful! Keeps you guessing! Everything you could want in a psychological thriller with a HUGE, unexpected twist.
This book gives great insight into the thinking, oft convoluted, of captives in a cult setting.
It was exciting. The ending was surprising
Page turner!!
Suspenseful
I enjoyed the fact that it was set in a part of Australia with which I was familiar…and…the plot was unexpectedly interesting!
I am not quite finished, yet, but it is full of twists and turns and I love it.
Lots of twists to hold your attention. The characters are well-developed and set in a bizarre, yet believable, setting that will capture your imagination. Well-constructed, it leads smoothly to a haunting conclusion.
Great read. Could not put it down.many twists and turns
Deliciously twisted, this one will definitely keep you guessing right up until the very end! A chilling dive into cult activity through the eyes of those it takes for its own and the police team who is determined to find the truth about what’s really happening behind the scenes, I promise you haven’t encountered a story like this before! As long as you’re okay with some graphic violence, then POISON ORCHIDS is an absolute must read.
The chemist and his pretty orchids were a family of mango pickers. Backpackers from around the world were recruited from others to join the family for mango season during the summer months. Tate’s farm offered food, fun, and boarding.
When two girls are found on the highway being chased by a man detectives and Psychologist Megan Arlotti are assigned the case. With the perpetrator identified and dead, the detectives first focused on the girls trying to fill in the gaps from the point of arrival.
Megan was just a psychologist who’d stepped way past her professional boundary lines trying to help piece together the timeline of events that brought these girls here. Megan worked closely with the detectives assisting them with any information she could retain from the girls.
The story was laid out into three parts: Part 1 was about determining who the girls were. Part 2 was about determining what happened to the girls. Part 3 was determining why this happened to the girls. Followed up with a spectacular epilogue.
Overall:
These two authors brought a bone chilling discovery of what it’s like to have a brilliant mind. Tate was a brilliant chemist who grew orchids in his greenhouse while also cultivating mangoes on his farm. There were unexpected twists and turns that had me gasping for breathe. This was definitely a page-turner. Normally I tried to puzzle the pieces together myself, but I this type I just let the authors tell their story and let it unfold the way it was intended.
I liked both detectives collaborating with the psychologist sharing ideas and concepts to proceed in the case. I liked all the supporting cast of characters they enhanced the story and brought this story to life.
The writing was superb with just enough information to keep me entertained.
I had to look up all the images of orchids and that bellyache bush just to help illustrate with an image. Fascinating plants required an image lookup.
I was so excited to see that 2 of my absolute favorite authors had collaborated on a book together. If you are a fan of either one, both, or even haven’t read the works of either – you will not be disappointed – this book is awesome! It draws you right in with the strangeness of 2 victims found together on a road who were imprisoned by the same man (now dead) but who have completely different stories about what has happened to them. So one of them must be lying, right? Hmm, maybe not…
There are so many twists and intricate manipulations that occur throughout the story, and you have to pay close attention to who says what and when they say it. Otherwise, you will likely be confused and wondering what on earth is going on. That’s what makes it such a good read, though, it’s so well-developed and the truth & lies woven deeply throughout the tale.
I highly recommend this book and both authors, who hopefully find the time to produce another brilliant piece of work together!
I was given an ARC of this book and I found it to be an excellent read.
It starts as a puzzle and is an intriguing mystery – what is the truth? The characters are well-developed and perfect for the story – good and bad (shudder). The plot is clever, mysterious and an enigma.
The writing style is fast-paced and easy to read and yet has wonderfully detailed descriptions that give a great sense of place…I could feel that heat.
A thoroughly enjoyable tale for those who enjoy the ‘dark side’ with a difference.
Highly recommended.
In the middle of nowhere, in Australia’s Northwest Territories, two girls covered in blood run out of the darkness toward a tanker truck traveling down a deserted highway. The driver swerves to miss them and barely survives the explosion that follows. The two girls, Gemma and Hayley, are taken to the hospital along with the driver where they tell conflicting stories about how they came to be in that location and how they got their disturbing injuries.
Hayley, a teenager from England, tells of living and working on a mango plantation before being kidnapped and held captive by serial rapist Rodney White, who she claims they escaped from on the night of the tanker explosion. Gemma, an Australian teen, claims she and Hayley spent the summer caged in Rodney White’s aviary, subjected to his perverse assaults. Both stories cannot be true, and psychologist Megan is sent to unravel the girls’ stories.
Detectives Kourous and McKay also want to know what happened to Gemma and Hayley. Their stories about the mango plantation don’t ring true, and their experiences with Rodney White aren’t adding up, either. When they visit the mango farm, and meet the eccentric millionaire owner with the curious nickname “The Chemist,” their suspicions only heighten. And then, Gemma and Hayley disappear.
This book is absolutely thrilling. Steal-your-breath and bite your nails thrilling. It’s like the Manson Family with a far wealthier and much better looking leader. Tate Llewellyn gave me chills He takes vulnerable young people, most who are backpacking through Australia on their own, and offers them jobs working on his mango farm. A lush, inviting plantation where they work, play, party, eat, and sleep it seems idyllic. Unfortunately, Tate is using these young people as human test subjects for his memory altering drugs.
Under the guise of growing orchids and making perfume, he operates a laboratory devoted to mind control and memory manipulation. His workers are given daily doses to make them docile, cooperative, and devoted to him. He manipulates their memories with the help of his ‘managers,’ subjecting them to horrific experiences and then administering drugs to make the forget. Those who prove too troublesome, or who do not survive the experiments, are slowly poisoned, tied to chairs, and frozen in place in a an old slaughterhouse freezer room.
Unfortunately, his drugs are not entirely reliable. Even with the help of his henchman, Rodney White, he can not eliminate everyone who poses a threat. When Gemma and Hayley kill Rodney and escape, his house of cards start to fall. And like most psychopaths, he doesn’t go down without a fight.
It was truly frightening how easily Tate maintained control of Gemma, Hayley, and the other occupants of the farm. The lengths he was willing to go to develop his drugs and the plans he had for them. And it was heroic the way the characters band together to bring him down. The suspense is exquisite, with just the right balance of tension, action, and wonder.
I found the entire story believable. It drew me in, and kept me in that delicious place where fear and hope collide to create delicious anticipation. I won’t say there is a happy ending. That depends on your perspective. There are sacrifices made, and penalties paid, but that kind of trauma leaves scars. Not everyone heals and not everyone recovers. It is a satisfying ending, though. It is understandable, and just. In a world where someone like Tate Llewellyn could actually exist, that has to be enough.
I just couldn’t. I’m not sure why it got such high reviews. The plot might have been decent, but the writing was so cliche.
Haunting
This would have gotten 5 stars from me if the person at the end, who was shot, hadn’t died, and the very ending was just annoying.
A great book with a plot that keeps you wanting more!!
easy enough read but I didn’t particularly understand or enjoy the ending.
What a ride! I felt like I was in the middle of the action and not knowing which way to turn.