(8)The Poison Garden by Alex Marwood

It had been over twenty years since Sarah Byrne last saw her sister, Alison. She had no idea where Alison had been for the last two decades until she saw her picture in the paper.  Along with nearly a hundred other pictures of people poisoned at the compound of a doomsday cult.  Sarah suddenly has custody of her sister's two young children, Eden and Ilo.  Taking in two young children would be tough, no matter what the situation, but these children have been sequestered away from the world their entire lives.  Their older sister, Romy,  also survived the poisoning and has been recovering at a half-way house, as hard as it has been for her siblings to adjust to life "outside", it has been worse for Romy.  But Romy has a plan that will give her the power that is her right because of the baby she carries.  Will her plan give her everything she wants or will it destroy everything?

I love Alex Marwood and recommend her every chance I get.  The Poison Garden was a bit of a deviation from her other books.  The book is told from alternating perspectives in alternating timelines.  There is Sarah after she takes custody of her niece and nephew.  And then there is Romy before the death and after she has re-entered society.  One thing is clear, life inside the cult was messed up beyond belief. This is why it throws me when Romy seems like a normal twenty-something woman, well as normal as one can be after emerging from a cult, but then something happens and you realize that Romy doesn't want to be on the outside.  In fact, she will do anything to get back to the safety of the inside. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.  I was so shocked by the ending of this book like it was the darkest and twisted thing I have read in a long time. 

Bottom Line - While The Poison Garden doesn't start off looking like a typical book from Alex Marwood, it soon morphs into the dark and twisted story that we have come to expect from the talented author.  And I loved every page of it.

DETAILS:

• The Poison Garden by Alex Marwood
• On Instagram
• Pages: 400
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 1/14/2020
• Buy it Here!
• Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for a review.