Synopsis

The project
Final Draft, a psychological horror. Promising Young Thing Steve Dade will direct.

The tagline
‘Based on a terrifying true story. That hasn’t happened – yet.’

The location
A cottage deep in a forest, miles from anywhere in the wintry wilds of West Cork.

The lead
Former soap-star Adele Rafferty has stepped in to replace the original actress at the very last minute. She can’t help but hope that this will be her big break.

The problem
Something isn’t quite right on the set of Final Draft.
Adele is about to discover that the real horror lies off the page…

Review

This was just OK.

Considering this book is 500+ pages I expected a fair few twists and a fast-paced action-packed plot. I just wanted something (anything) to happen, but sadly it was extremely predictable and far too long.

It also didn’t get off to a good start and I almost tossed it aside on page two, because the writing style was unnecessarily descriptive and not particularly well-written; sentences were long and lacked commas.

However, the story did improve once Adele arrived and I did finish it, despite finding it obvious what was going to happen. There were times I felt a prickle on my neck, but mostly it was just a bit long-winded and there were absolutely no twists at all. In fact, the execution felt a bit like a budget B-movie.

I did like the format, particularly the inclusion of the movie script. However, for those who dislike or struggle to read scripts, this may deter readers.

It hasn’t put me off the author’s books per se, but I might leave it a while before picking another one up.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for my proof. Opinions my own.