Excited to participate in a reality show competition, Miriam Macy believes this golden opportunity will help her make things right. With the payment she receives for participating, coupled with the prize she hopes to win, Miriam can pay off her debts and reset her finances. More importantly, she can make things right with her daughter, who’s still bitter about Miriam’s vengeful cyberbullying her daughter’s classmate. Miriam simply wants a fresh start and is desperate for her attorney to clear her name from this regretful incident so she can refresh her life. This reality competition is just her ticket to freedom.

Little does she know.

When Miriam embarks on the journey to the private island to play the game with her competitors, she’s unprepared for just how “real” the competition becomes. She realizes all is not as she’d imagined when lies, accidents, secrets and cryptic communication soon fill the mansion they share. And when Paradise turns fatal, Miriam finds herself stranded on a remote island and in the fight for her life.

This edge-of-your-seat, suspenseful thriller by Rachel Howzell Hall makes you think twice about embarking on a reality competition.

And if Survivor meets Fantasy Island comes to mind when you read this, I concur. From the very first page, the foreshadowing whispers of a dark and multi-layered story with a cast of characters each out for their own personal gain. But what I love most is how the protagonist, Miriam, is incredibly real. Just when a thought pops in your mind, Miriam shares the same one openly calling out her competitors on their inappropriate actions and pushing them to reveal their secrets. And while she admits this is what has got her into trouble in the past, she just won’t stop. And it’s exactly this brassiness, honest judgement and compelling need for justice that opens her up to danger on the island.

Image courtesy of Tor/Forge