ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Isolation Island by Louise Minchin
Isolation Island by Louise Minchin is published by Headline and is out now in hardcover, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to the publishers for the proof copy.
TEN CELEBRITIES…
Arrive on a remote Scottish island
TWO WEEKS…
to win the prize of a lifetime
ONE DARK SECRET…
And the game turns deadly.Ten celebrities have arrived to take part in a gruelling reality survival show: two weeks completely alone on a remote Scottish island, in the depths of winter. With some careers on the rise, and others whose star is fading, almost everyone has something to play for. But investigative journalist Lauren has one question – what does Hollywood megastar Nate Stirling have to gain by taking part?
With a production team that seems incapable of keeping them safe, a gathering storm and the unrelenting gaze of hidden cameras, the contestants are stretched to the limit as they try to outshine their fellow competitors and hide their darkest secrets.
But when a body is found, it’s clear that the game has become a matter of life and death…
I think most of us will have watched a reality TV show at some point. They’re everywhere these days. Imagine a survival show, ten celebrities on a remote Scottish island that houses a derelict monastery. It’s going to be gripping viewing isn’t it? Isolation Island takes it a bit further with a storm and a dead body making this a very dangerous reality show.
Lauren is the main character, the story being told from her perspective as she joins the other contestants. She has her journalist’s eye mainly on Hollywood superstar, Nate Stirling, and makes friends with some of the others, including ex-sportsmen and Olympians, a former reality show runner-up, a business woman, and two up and coming social media darlings.
This is a very good debut novel from Louise Minchin. I enjoyed the build-up most of all as the contestants reach the island and find out just how difficult the next two weeks are going to be for them. It felt like I was watching them myself and the dynamics between all the strong personalities came across so well. Lauren never knows who she can trust and it was a surprise to me when all was revealed.
I really enjoyed Isolation Island. It’s fast-paced and well-plotted. The characters were a mixed bag of the unlikeable, the big-headed and the annoying…very similar to most reality shows. I particularly liked the inhospitable setting of the island in the middle of a storm which added an extra unsettling element. Recommended for thriller fans.
Louise Minchin is best known for her twenty-year stint on BBC Breakfast’s red sofa, but she has also been the main news anchor on the BBC News Channel and the BBC’s One O’clock News and presented The One Show, Five Live Drive, Real Rescues and Missing Live. Her television career has also seen her participate in a number of reality TV shows including ITV’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Channel 4’s Time Crashers and the BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef.
Louise has also written non-fiction titles, Dare to Tri and Fearless, and she was Chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023.
