A new novel of insidious secrets and chilling revelations surrounding a mysterious cult–the latest gripping psychological thriller from Alex MarwoodWhen nearly one hundred members of The Ark, a sinister apocalypse cult are found dead by poison at their isolated community in North Wales, those left alive are scattered to the winds with few coping skills and fewer answers. For … For twenty-three-year-old Romy, who has never known life outside the compound, learning how to live in a world she has been taught to fear is terrifying.
Now Romy must start a new life for herself–and the child growing inside her. She is determined to find the rest of her family and keep her baby safe, no matter the cost. But as the horrors of her past start to resurface, she realizes that leaving her old life behind won’t be easy. Outside the walls of The Ark, the real evil has only just begun.
A brilliantly plotted, page-turning novel from “one of psychological suspense’s best writers” (The Boston Globe), The Poison Garden will leave you stunned.
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I devoured The Poison Garden… Gripping and utterly convincing, it’s Alex Marwood at the top of her (already impressive) game.
I am an unabashed fan of Alex Marwood and despite my reservations (the jacket copy doesn’t do the story justice), I loved every minute of this story. Centered around the life of Romy and a doomsday cult known as The Ark, the story is told in alternating time periods, from the beginning of The Ark, to present day. I’ve never understood the cult mentality, but The Poison Garden opens a window into that world and Marwood paints the picture with skill, though fair warning, this book is not for the faint of heart; there’s violence, rape (off stage but implied), and mind control. Loved the ending, a twist I wasn’t anticipating and yet, more than perfectly satisfying.
“The Poison Garden” by Alex Marwood opens with a startling event. Police Constable Nita Bevan and her partner Martin Coles walk up the hill, and once they find the first body, no one will ever be the same. More deaths come after “that day”, and the story is told in a narration that jumps back and forth in time. Readers follow participants and learn how they arrived at “that day,” and uncover all that transpires in the days and months that follow. Each chapter is identified with the character, location, and date. This information helps readers place people and actions in the correct chronology.
This is the story of a cult, its rise, its operation, and its fall. Readers soon learn that both the lives and the deaths of cult members are complicated and shocking. They run, fight, hide, and farm. They know that if they want to survive, they need to be prepared, and they are. The Ark will be the survival of the human race, and they are the fathers and mothers of the future.
The main characters are complex and multifaceted. They show one side to the people outside the cult, “The Dead,” another to fellow cult members, and yet another to only themselves and readers. The primary characters are Sarah Byrne, next of kin, and Romi, Eden, and Ilo, children of Sarah’s sister Alison. After Alison’s death on “that day” in the cult, Sara becomes guardian of the two younger children, Eden, and Ilo. She soon seeks help from Romi, the only “known” adult survivor. The characters are appealing; readers root for them, want them to succeed, but the transition to normal life will not be easy.
Marwood created a story that is startling on multiple levels; danger does not stop with the mass death; it intensifies. By structuring the narrative around multiple times frames and multiple people, Marwood gives readers a frightening look into the inner workings of the cult and exposes the cult remnants that members carry inside.
There are some entertaining moments along the way. The first Big Mac is eaten in a parking lot, washed down with a bottle of water, bland yet highly flavored, a strange mix of slimy, dry, and crunchy. Judge Judy is mentioned as well, “She doesn’t take any nonsense…tough, like beef jerky.”
“The Poison Garden” is intense and powerful. Page after page is filled with the twisted, the unexpected, and the frightening including the unexpected end. I received a review copy of “The Poison Garden” from Alex Marwood and Penguin Books. It is compelling and almost exhausting to read, yet I could not put it down.
God, Alex Marwood is good. Like all her books, The Poison Garden is absolutely, beautifully realized, full of wry, defiant humor and pitch-black, hand-over-your-mouth suspense. I’d read her grocery lists.
Highly imaginative, yet consistently believable, this wonderful dystopian novel is both terrifying and unsettling as if a harbinger for our times. A well written and thrilling read.
Very interesting premise – very dark subject matter, which I enjoy.Well-written and absorbing.
The Poison Garden was my first time reading a book by Alex Marwood, but it definitely won’t be my last. Even though I ended up giving it a 3/5 rating, I really enjoyed her writing style and so much more, I just couldn’t bring myself to do a 4.
This book is almost impossible for me to wrap my head around and I had a hard time rating it, so this review won’t be any easier. I really liked the multiple viewpoints and the dark themes, but there was just something missing for me and I can’t quite put my finger on it. The Poison Garden has a great, disturbing start but I felt slightly let down by the rest of it like it wasn’t living up to the beginning. Don’t get me wrong though, a lot of people are going to love it, especially if you are a fan of books about cults. Books that involve cults are a little hit or miss for me, and I found myself pretty frustrated by the second half of this novel.
The Poison Garden is DARK, and there are a couple of scenes that are downright gory, so I think it is good to be aware of that. I don’t want to touch on too much of the plot since I think it’s better not to talk about the details, but I really like to see evil characters get their comeuppance in books and there just wasn’t enough of that for me here.
Final Thought: If you like dark books and are a fan of cults, you will have to make The Poison Garden a must read. I would still recommend this to a lot of people, it just didn’t fully hit the mark for me. However, I am still glad I read it and I’m very happy that Marwood is on my radar now. I look forward to checking out her other books and I already put 3 on hold at the library!
Thank you to The Book Drop and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.