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![Substitute by [Susi Holliday]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/415keTIJKyL._SY346_.jpg)
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Three people live. Three people die. You make the choice.
Like any mother, Chrissie wants to protect her family. She would do anything to keep them safe. So when a mysterious stranger turns up at her door, offering to prevent the deaths of the people she loves, it sounds too good to be true. The only problem: she must choose someone to die in their place. A substitute.
When her daughter Holly has a terrible accident, Chrissie has no option but to enter the programme. In that horrifying moment, she would do anything to save her. But even after Holly makes a miraculous recovery, Chrissie is convinced it’s just a coincidence. After all, who can really control the laws of life and death?
But as the dangers to her family escalate and her chosen substitutes begin to disappear, Chrissie finds herself in an underworld of hidden laboratories and secretive doctors. And the consequences of playing by their rules are far deadlier than she ever imagined…
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThomas & Mercer
- Publication date12 Aug. 2021
- File size2745 KB
Product description
Review
“Holliday is excellent at creating an atmosphere of unease.” —The Sun
“A clever slice of dystopian darkness.” —Heat Magazine
“Utterly gripping…” —C.L. Taylor, author of Sleep
“I love a book which centers around a moral dilemma, but Substitute brought so much more to the table. It's a real twisting of genres that will blow your mind.” —Caroline Mitchell, author of the DI Amy Winter series
“Original, fast-paced, and thought-provoking, this speculative thriller from the peerless imagination of Susi Holliday will keep you hooked from page one. Who would you substitute…?” —Amanda Jennings, author of In Her Wake
“Tense, gripping, and terrifyingly plausible, Substitute marries an intriguing high-concept premise with warm storytelling and the most accurate parent-child relationship since The Whisper Man.” —Ed James, author of the Cullen and Bain Scottish Crime Thrillers series
“A razor-sharp story that refuses to let you go.” —Quentin Bates, author of the Officer Gunnhilder series
“When faced with an impossible choice of who lives and who dies, a mother is caught in a twisty science of the future. I could barely breathe when reading this. Gripping!” —Rachael Blok, author of Into the Fire
“If you like chills and thrills with a dark science twist and a big hook, it’ll be right up your street. There is no substitute for Holliday…” —Mason Cross, author of the Carter Blake series
“Absolutely loved Substitute. It poses a fascinating question I can’t stop thinking about: if you could save the lives of three loved ones by choosing three others to die in their place, who would they be? Not a wasted word and so compelling.” —Fiona Cummins, author of When I Was Ten
“Its future-possible plot and richly drawn characters kept me hooked from start to finish. Easy to devour and hard to forget.” —John Marrs, author of What Lies Between Us
“Dark, clever, and thought-provoking, just as you’d expect from Holliday. She puts everyday people through not-at-all everyday situations, and you, the reader, have to watch it all fall apart with your heart in your throat.” —Louise Beech, author of This Is How We Are Human
“Loved it. Could you sentence someone to death to save a loved one? A thrilling speculative thriller for fans of Blake Crouch and John Marrs.” —Mark Edwards, author of The Hollows
“I always get excited when a new Susi Holliday book comes out and Substitute didn’t disappoint. A wild ride and a highly original story you won’t want to miss.” —C S Green, author of Sleep Tight
“Wowzers—I’ve just finished reading a proof of Susi Holliday’s twisty-turny thriller Substitute and it’s epic!! Mind-bending, pulse-pounding, techno-thriller brilliance! Perfect for fans of John Marrs’s The One, JP Delaney, Blake Crouch.” —Steph Broadribb, author of Deep Down Dead
“What an absolute belter of a book. I’m loving the slight Sci-Fi edge that her work is taking lately, while still remaining effortlessly cool and relevant. Each new book surpasses the previous, something I thought impossible. Holliday is one of the most exciting authors I’ve come across.” —JM Hewitt, author of The Life She Wants
“Susi Holliday knocks it out of the park with this book. It’s everything you want in a thriller—imaginative, credible, and engaging; rocketing relentlessly towards a gut-wrenching conclusion as the stakes grow higher and higher…Brilliant.” —Louise Voss, author of The Last Stage
“Absolutely loved it! Original and compelling, with a killer premise and gut-wrenching dilemmas. And I do love a rogue scientist.” —Roz Watkins, author of the DI Meg Dalton thriller series
“A chilling and addictive tale of the price of good intentions, devastating choices, and science gone wrong. Frankenstein meets The Chain in Susi’s most powerful thriller yet.” —Heleen Kist, author of Stay Mad, Sweetheart
“A cracking premise. If you want something a little different then I suggest you check this out. Read the blurb. Go on. You won’t be able to look away!” —Rebecca Bradley, author of the DI Hannah Robbins series
“A twisty, super creepy tale that kept me turning the pages well into the night—be careful what you wish for!” —Emma Haughton, author of The Dark
“Deliciously disturbing, thought-provoking, and unforgettable. Everything I want in a thriller.” —Jo Jakeman, author of Safe House
“If you’re looking for a pacy, smart, and twisty plot, Substitute is an absolute must read. This is a book that feels terrifyingly real.” —Lisa Cutts, author of Don’t Trust Him
“You’d be mad to substitute Susi Holliday’s clever, complex & compelling thriller for anyone else’s: who lives and who dies?” —Claire Seeber, author of The Street Party
“Wow! Creepy, compelling, and so thought-provoking! Who would be your three?!” —Karen Cole, author of Deliver Me
About the Author
Susi Holliday grew up near Edinburgh and worked in the pharmaceutical industry for many years before she started writing. A life-long fan of crime and horror, her short stories have been published in various places, and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham Prize. She is the bestselling author of eight novels and a novella, several of them written as SJI Holliday. Along with three other female authors, she provides coaching for new crime writers via www.crimefictioncoach.com. You can find out more at her website, www.susiholliday.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SJIHolliday, on Twitter @SJIHolliday, and on Instagram @susijholliday.
Product details
- ASIN : B08TLXDBMT
- Publisher : Thomas & Mercer (12 Aug. 2021)
- Language : English
- File size : 2745 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 308 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 1542020042
- Best Sellers Rank: 39,435 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 199 in Technothrillers (Kindle Store)
- 265 in Techno Thrillers
- 296 in Genetic Engineering Science Fiction eBooks
- Customer reviews:
About the authors
Susi (S.J.I.) Holliday is the bestselling Scottish author of 10 novels, a novella and many short stories. By day she works in pharmaceuticals. She lives in London (except when she's in Edinburgh) and she loves to travel the world.
BOOKS
The Street (2023)
The Hike (2022)
Substitute (2021)
The Last Resort (2020)
Mr Sandman (2020)
Violet (2019)
The Lingering (2018)
The Deaths of December (2017)
The Damselfly (2017)
Willow Walk (2016)
Black Wood (2015)
You can find links to her website, social media and newsletter here: www.linktr.ee/susiholliday
Susi (S.J.I.) Holliday is the bestselling Scottish author of 10 novels, a novella and many short stories. By day she works in pharmaceuticals. She lives in London (except when she's in Edinburgh) and she loves to travel the world.
BOOKS
The Street (2023)
The Hike (2022)
Substitute (2021)
The Last Resort (2020)
Mr Sandman (2020)
Violet (2019)
The Lingering (2018)
The Deaths of December (2017)
The Damselfly (2017)
Willow Walk (2016)
Black Wood (2015)
You can find links to her website, social media and newsletter here: www.linktr.ee/susiholliday
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What greeted me as I dove into Substitute was an intriguing and chilling opener which then proceeded to kidnap me into a world of twists and turns as Chrissie’s life is turned upside down. Has she made her right choices in who stays and who goes? How would she cope with the weight of someone’s death on her conscience to save her nearest and dearest? I don’t know how I’d feel in the slightest!
I loved the time line jumps between Chrissie’s life in the present and tense drug development in the past. As much as I was invested in the present, the story of the drug was equally captivating. How was this life changing, innovative but dangerous medical development going to be used and how was it going to interweave into the present?
Holliday has written a high tech thriller exploring the idea of what is essentially resurrection and the choice of life and death. In my head, I had the story playing out like a TV drama or a thrilling film – it’s one of those books ideal for an adaptation. I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like it but I seriously enjoyed this addictive and very believable exploration of what could be in the very near future.
Chrissie thinks there's no harm in this; it can't possibly be for real, can it? Then, suddenly, life goes horribly wrong, and she realises she's caught up in a situation she could never have dreamt of, let alone have considered becoming reality. Of course, there is so much more to it than this and Susi Holliday spins a lively tale across multiple time frames , cleverly making the implausible look just that little bit more possible. Or is it all just a clever smokescreen...?
A great page-turner, proving yet again how adaptable the author is with her imagination! Recommended if you fancy immersing yourself in some fiendish life and death situations from the comfort of your own home, not these characters'...
Substitute is a highly engaging thriller which blends with science fiction so well. We meet Chrissie, who is still grieving for her mother who died several years earlier. Although her husband can’t seem to understand why she is still getting upset. She is approached by a stranger who asks if she would like to take part in a new programme. She doesn’t take this proposition all that seriously at first and eventually signs up, thinking it’s all just hypothetical. But it becomes clear that Chrissie wasn’t just randomly selected to take part. There is something far darker going on behind the scenes here.
Susi Holliday’s premise is such an interesting one. It had me thinking, what would I do if I was in Chrissie’s position. Would I be able to decide who lives and who dies so I can protect the ones I love? It did make me wonder if perhaps there is something similar in development somewhere around the world and that thought gave me chills. Given everything that’s happened in the past year, it doesn’t seem quite outside the realms of possibility anymore.
I loved the two different strands in this story. As we meet Chrissie in the present, we are also taken back to 1980 where we meet two scientists, Edward, and Michael. They are in the process of developing something extraordinary which Michael believes will benefit the world hugely.
I loved how Susi Holliday gradually revealed more about her characters and I could begin to see why they were involved in what was happening here. It is so cleverly put together. There are some tense scenes as we begin to understand why Chrissie has been selected to take part in this programme. It made for such gripping reading and the last line right at the end gave me chills.
This if my favourite book by Susi to date and I flew through it. If you love a mix of science fiction and a psychological thriller then this is the book for you. I highly, highly recommend it!
If you wanted to nitpick you could ask why Joseph knew so much about Chrissie and Holly I suppose and also Wendy's affair seemed superfluous. However, these are trifling complaints.