Doctor Glass

My review
I am a fan of Louise’s work, having previously read her books Distorted Days, Rosie Shadow and her short story collection, Stained Glass Lives, so I was really excited to read Dr Glass! This story does have some trigger warnings for suicide, self-harm and murder. It’s incredibly dark and a little disturbing at times, but a great read.

Louise has an amazing way with words and writes beautiful, poetic prose that is always very evocative and moving. Dr Glass is no exception! Here is one of my favourite sections:

She hears his grief, like ghosts playing in an orchestra. It’s snowflakes, it’s an avalanche, and it’s a lightbulb popping. His grief is fierce, a sharp pain. Its huge is coloured by the nature of the deaths, premature: one suicide, one murder. Like a season stopped prematurely, from summer to autumn. Like a tree that has disrobed itself of leaves and colour having been in full life, full bloom, the sap rising. Rising.

The first half of the book is slower paced, as we are introduced to the characters. Each of the first few chapters are told from different points of view. I tend to enjoy more character-driven stories and so I really enjoyed this insight into the motivations of each person. Each character felt incredibly realistic, with a distinct voice. Even though many of them are dislikeable for various reasons, this made them feel even more life-like — it was hard to really like any of the characters. But this is what I enjoy about Louise’s books! The morally grey outlook of each character is very human and relatable.

After Emma-Jane is kidnapped, the pace of the story picks up and I was absolutely hooked. I did find parts of the story and her captivity quite disturbing, but I think that makes it all the more shocking when Emma-Jane begins to have feelings for her kidnapper.

This is a really gripping read and I really enjoyed it. It’s a tough read at times but very thought-provoking too. It’s the perfect blend of thought-provoking ideas and dark, disturbing psychological thriller. This is the first in a new series, Glass Minds, and so I’m looking forward to reading more!

Dark Dark Dark. This deals with some subjects you may find triggering from suicide to mental health issues to the murdering of children. DARK.
Dark… Yet, extremely well written. None of the subject matter is here to just add shocking content and is all well written and pivotal to the story and how it progresses.
In the story we follow Dr Emma-Jane Glass as she navigates her life and obsession with her work. After hew views about a mother who murdered her child and comitted suicide becomes wide spread, one person isn’t quite happy with the response. His answer? Kidnapping Glass to show her that she is wrong.
Not only is the situation bleak but the descriptions of the setting and how the story is playing out will have you transfixed.
Lies, betryal, and manipulation are common themes throughout the story and lead to multiple surprises in the story that keep you needing to know more to see how it plays out.
The character development was also top notch here and I wanted to put it further down in the review to frame this with the above statement in mind. The characters are not trustworthy. Quite often you feel that you’ll have a handle on the cast only for another layer to be peeled back and have you wondering how well you really know each of the characters that we’ve met.
I quite enjoyed Worthington’s writing style, ability to deal with uncomfortable content, and wrapping together a thriller with horror and mystery! Now that I’ve experienced her work and almost musical style of writing, I want to take a deep dive into the other tales she has told.