Synopsis:
When iconic musical Dust is revived twenty years after the leading actress was murdered in her dressing room, a series of eerie events haunts the new cast…
The Dean Wilson Theatre is believed to be haunted by a long-dead actress, singing her last song, waiting for her final cue, looking for her killer…
Now Dust, the iconic musical, is returning after twenty years. But who will be brave enough to take on the role of ghostly goddess Esme Black, last played by Morgan Miller, who was murdered in her dressing room?
Theatre usher Chloe Dee is caught up in the spectacle. As the new actors arrive, including an unexpected face from her past, everything changes. Are the eerie sounds and sightings backstage real or just her imagination? Is someone playing games?
Not all the drama takes place onstage. Sometimes murder, magic, obsession and the biggest of betrayals are real life. When you’re in the theatre shadows, you see everything.
And Chloe has been watching…
My Review
Like a lot of people at the moment, I have been struggling to concentrate for long enough to read. I started this book with plenty of time to go until my date on the tour. I needn’t have worried though. From the opening page this had me in its grip. All be it a very icy one.
The Story
The Story is told in a duel timeline. In 2005 three friends set out to play a game, Chloe, Jess and Ryan start to mess with something that will have far reaching consequences for them all. I loved the fact that we actually start at the end of the game, you know what you are getting into straight away and I was instantly curious about how it even started and what impact that was having on the present day.
We skip between there and 2019 in The Dean Wilson Theatre. This is where the main storyline takes place, something is stirring, truths are coming to light. I thought I knew what the outcome was going to be so many times but I was stunned by the revelations along the way.
The Characters
I loved the characters in the story. Our main view point is Chloe. Her story very slowly unravels interspersed with what happened in the game. She came across to me, at first, as being someone that was quite self-assured. As we get to know her fully her insecurities come to light. She struggles, her life hasn’t necessarily gone to plan but she is making the best of it. She is well liked and I gelled with her instantly. Especially her teenage self, always the follower. I totally related to that. Her character development is wonderful.
Chester, one of Chloe’s colleagues is great. Loved him from the moment we met him. A lighthearted moment that is much needed in this dark tale. Chloe’s other colleagues are more in the sidelines but all are well written and all feel like they should be there.
Ryan and Jess are an interesting pair. I think if I only knew the 2019 version of Jess, I would have really disliked her, however, because of the duel timeline you get to see why she is like she is. I understood her so much more.
Final Thoughts
The whole atmosphere of this book is tense and chilling. Louise has written it so beautifully. The dust motes in the air, sunlight light streaming through gaps, her descriptions truly bring you in to the story. At certain points I felt goosebumps on my arms, as if I was actually there experiencing it all alongside Chloe. I was hooked from the opening page and I devoured it in a day. An amazing example of a cross genre book that so many of you will love. Truly stunning and I highly, highly recommend it. One of the best books I have every read.
I Am Dust is published on the 16th and I urge you to go and pre order it, you will not be disappointed.
My thanks to Orenda for my copy of the book and to Anne for inviting me onto this blog tour. As always, my reviews are 100% honest.
Author Bio
Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Readers’ Choice for 2015. Her second book, The Mountain in My Shoe was shortlisted for Not the Booker Prize. Both of her previous books Maria in the Moon and The Lion Tamer Who Lost were widely reviewed, critically acclaimed and number-one bestsellers on Kindle. The Lion Tamer Who Lost was shortlisted for the RNA Most Popular Romantic Novel Award in 2019. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice. Louise lives with her husband on the outskirts of Hull, and loves her job as a Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.
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