Step Up Or Die by Gaynor Torrance #review @gaytorauthor

About the book

Meghan Dawson was one lucky lady. Born to a privileged family it seemed a natural progression when she married a multi-millionaire. But Meghan’s luck runs out when, in the midst of a maelstrom of political turbulence and shocking social carnage, her father, a US senator, is gunned down in New York and she inadvertently stumbles across the identity of his assassin.

Without warning, Meghan finds herself embroiled in a web of political intrigue and cybercrime, where the deception runs deep and crosses continents. Oblivious to the full extent of the danger, and unable to know who to trust, Meghan takes her young son and goes on the run. From New York to Toronto and on to London, they are pursued by a ruthless killer who knows Meghan better than she knows herself.

Suddenly, every decision she makes has a life or death implication. And as the body count rises rapidly, Meghan plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse which sees her options narrow until she is forced to either STEP UP OR DIE

Published 5th February

Amazon UK | Amazon US

My thoughts

I’d had Step Up Or Die on my kindle for a little while and due to unforeseen circumstances I didn’t get round to reading it as soon as I would have liked, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down.

The story starts at a fast pace with a number of catastrophic events taking place globally. I seemed to whizz through these chapters, practically holding my breath at some points at the monstrosities that were occurring. We’re talking cybercrime, murder and espionage that quite literally have your eyes popping out.

The story then focuses on Meghan Dawson, daughter of US senator, Chuck Fellowes and wife to multi millionaire Russell Dawson. I’ll be completely honest here and say I did not like Meghan one little bit to start with. She came across as a spoilt little brat and I felt myself wanting to reach in and give her a slap or a good shake. Then as the story unfolds you get to see there’s more to Meghan’s character and I really found myself urging her on and hoping for the best.

I’m not going to go into detail about the plot but I will say it keeps you on the edge of your seat, it’s fast paced with lots of twists and turns. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this psychological thriller with it’s uniqueness. It was like a jigsaw puzzle, you have all the pieces in front of you that you slowly manage to fit together and at the end you feel satisfied all the pieces are now in place.

I’ll definitely be recommending Step Up or Die.

*My thanks go to the author for the copy, this is my unbiased review*

About the author

My name is Gaynor Torrance and I am an independent author from the UK. I live in a beautiful part of Wales with my husband and son; a few minutes’ walk away from a magnificent castle which attracts tourists from all over the world.
We are a family of animal lovers and currently share our home with a very grumpy cat which came into our lives through an animal rescue charity. He is old, quite unpredictable, and often challenging though he does occasionally display moments of affection, usually when he wants something.
I have had an obsession with books for as long as I can remember. I love the escapism they provide, the worlds they have transported me to, and the way they have fired my imagination.
As a teenager, I wanted to be a real-life Nancy Drew, though I knew deep down that it was never going to happen, as I lacked the courage to be like her. A few years later I fell in love with Aragorn though that relationship was doomed to failure, as being a shy and quiet person I would never have survived in Middle-earth.
Throughout school and university I devoured the classics, and then I discovered crime, mystery, and thrillers. I love reading the works of Val McDermid, James Patterson, Kathy Reichs, Sophie Hannah, Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Greg Iles . . . But I’d better stop there as otherwise, the list will keep on going.
As for my writing, REVENGE was the first of my books to be published. The setting is Cardiff, which is a city I love. My protagonist, Detective Inspector Jemima Huxley lives in Thornhill, which is where I used to live for many years.
STEP UP OR DIE is a thriller based around the dangers posed by the dark web, and the action takes place in New York, Toronto, and London.
At the moment my efforts are once again focused on Cardiff as I am writing CUCKOO, which is the next in the Jemima Huxley series.

You can connect with Gaynor Torrance at the following: https://www.gaynortorrance.com | Twitter | Facebook