Review: Nemesis by Brendan Reichs

"This time I was going to fight for what I believed in, no matter the consequences. I was going to do something. I just didn't have any idea what."

Everything changes in an eye blink . . .

It’s been happening since Min was eight. Every two years, on her birthday, the same man finds her and murders her in cold blood. But hours later she wakes up in a clearing just outside her hometown – alone, unhurt, and with all evidence of the crime erased.

Across the valley, Noah just wants to be like everyone else. But he’s not. Nightmares of murder and death plague him too, though he does his best to hide the signs.

As the world around them begins to spiral towards panic and destruction, the two troubled teens discover that people have been lying to them their whole lives . . .

If you're going to read this book just be aware that if you pick it up you will not be able to put it down until you're finished. Just a heads up. Fast paced, packed with action and occasional violent scenes that will leave you shocked but gripped, I cannot fault this book in any way. Reichs lays out a plot so thick and well thought out, even the most observant readers will not notice it slowly building. Anyone who claims they saw any one of the plot twists coming is either Einstein or a liar, they are simply unguessable. 

I would recommend this book for anyone who loves a conspiracy or a mystery that will leave them guessing to the end, thrown in with suspicious authority figures, dodgy psychiatrist and army activity all happening in an unsuspecting sleepy American town, seemingly cut off from all of the strange events plaguing Earth.

This book features your usual suspects when dealing with high school age characters: a bully gang led by tough guy Ethan; outsiders and best friends Min and Tack with an "us against the world" attitude; and sheep like Noah who follow the crowd and find it hard to make decisions off their own back, even when it's crucial that they do.

It's hard to write a review of a book where so much happens but the key of it working is that all of that is kept secret from the reader until it is revealed on the page. So, for that reason I will say no more, other than you should really pick it up if you love The Maze Runner or the Gone series.

9/10