An unsettling psychological journey that goes to prove every parent right – Never talk to strangers!

Carrie and Violet, two very different women, each traveling alone, both for very different reasons, both with one thing in common. Neither wants to remain alone as they board the Trans-Siberian Express.

Thrown together by chance, traveling forward on their journey together by choice, the story follows the pair of women as they venture on to the train as they continue on the journey Carrie had all planned for her and her best friend.

Told from alternative perspectives of Carrie and Violet and emails between Carrie and her friend who missed out on the trip of a life time due to a broken leg, this is a slow paced read, but one packed with a profound, subtle rise in tension page by page as secrets are revealed, their true characters come to light as the two strangers get closer and each women’s own agenda reveals its self.

You may think that you know where this story is heading but as things start to turn form drunken revelry to dangerously toxic the craftsmanship of the writing and the ingenuity of the plot will have you hurtling through the pages as fast as the Trans-Siberian Express hurtles the women across the country.
If you are a fan of psychological and nerve tingling intrigue reads you are in for a real treat with this one! ( )

I first heard of Susi Holliday when she appeared on a panel at Newcastle Noir 2019; I immediately added her to my list of authors I wanted to read and Violet is the first SJI Holliday book that I have read. It's not a creepy ghosty book of the style that made me sit up and take notice of this author, but it's spine-tingly chilling in its own very different way.

What a multi-faceted character Susi Holliday has created in Violet. Violet is like a spark in a firework factory; you really don't want to encounter one! There's a definite dark undercurrent and an air of mystery about what her endgame is but it's clear that there's something not quite right about her. I really feared for Carrie's safety when Violet tagged along on Carrie's spare train ticket and couldn't help but feel that Violet was a bad influence on Carrie. I had no idea how this would all turn out, but I suspected it would turn out badly for Carrie.

I loved the inclusion of email exchanges between Carrie and her friend Laura, who would have travelled with her if she hadn't broken her leg just before they were due to set off. It really gives an insight into Carrie's thoughts and feelings and it's also interesting to read how we often put a positive spin on things and choose what we tell people.

What a blindingly good page-turner Violet is! I was totally hooked by Violet's story and the darkness within her; I think if you cut her she'd be black inside. Of course, things are never what they seem and SJI Holliday has quite a few surprises in store for the reader. Is Violet deluded, psychotic, dangerous or all of the above? You'll just have to read the book to find out.

Violet is a dark and disturbing page-turner that had me on the edge of my seat; it's not just a cracker of a book it's a real firecracker! It's an unusual and outstanding book and I'm off to shop for more SJI Holliday books right now!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )

I enjoyed this, although no of characters were likeable.
Some how, I wasn’t hooked all the way through but found it enjoyable none the less ( )

I chose to read this book because I loved the blurb - I was hooked at 'one of these women is not who she claims to be...', and needed to decide which of them was the fraud.

On the surface, it all sounded quite innocent; two girls travelling alone in Asia find each other and become travelling companions. However, there was something in the writing from the beginning that kept nagging at me. I had the feeling that the words were not telling me everything I needed to know about these young women.

I didn't warm to either Carrie or Violet, and I was not sure whether I was even supposed to empathise with one or other of them. Although, I thought I should at least like Carrie.

Violet is a psychological thriller, told in the third person from Violet's point of view. She tells us what she wants us to know, glossing over or omitting the bits that she doesn't want to dwell on.

The first half of the book is a little slow, telling us about their journey, their shared experiences, and the little niggles they have with each other. But the pace ramps up once we see jealousy masquerading as protectiveness, and begin to learn what Violet is capable of doing.

From that point the story gets darker, as we learn more of the girls' backstories, and Violet provides more detail about the incident in the hotel room.

I enjoyed reading the emails exchanged between Carrie and her best friend Laura. I thought they served to fill in the gaps in Carrie's story - the bits Violet could not know - but by the final chapter, I realised they had mislead me as much as Violet's version of events.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story which had me gripped right from the beginning. ( )

I really enjoyed SJI Holliday's last book, The Lingering, and so I was excited to read Violet which is a really dark psychological thriller. What particularly appealed to me was the setting. Violet and Carrie first meet in Beijing. Both are travelling and Violet has just split from her boyfriend. Carrie is travelling alone because the friend she was supposed to be with has broken her leg. Violet needs a ticket for the Trans-Siberian Express and Carrie just happens to have one so they hook up and travel together.

I loved following the two women along the way but this is no happy hippy backpacker tale. Oh no, this is much more sinister and makes you think about who you make friends with and how little you really know about a person.. A woman travelling alone is in a vulnerable position but you'd think another woman travelling alone would be the perfect companion. Not here. I won't go into it any further but suffice it to say that one of the women is someone I would definitely want to stay clear of, although I did often wonder if I could trust either of them.

I had a moment towards the end when I thought "Killing Eve!". There are definitely vibes of that in this story. I've since seen that I'm not the only person who thought that. The journey takes in Russia and Germany amongst other places and some of the events seemed very similar to those in the TV programme.

There were twists and gasps galore as I just didn't know what was coming and the ending was brilliant. It's a wonderfully atmospheric novel. I enjoy being transported to other countries and it was interesting to see how the women coped with the problems that were thrown at them. Being in a foreign country and in any kind of peril is a really scary prospect, even just to read about.

The author has done a fabulous job at writing a gripping travel thriller, a multi-layered and realistic one. I found it to be a tense and exciting read. ( )