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Poison Orchids
A dark, compelling new thriller from bestselling authors Sarah A. Denzil and Anni Taylor
Young backpackers Gemma and Hayley arrive at a remote mango farm, out of money and desperate for work. The farm's owner, Tate Llewellyn, welcomes them in with open arms. An enigmatic, wealthy chemist, Tate spends his days running his hobby farm and cultivating rare orchids in his greenhouse.
The weeks go on, a blur of fruit-picking with the other international backpackers, parties, campfires and wading beneath waterfalls in the nearby hot springs. Tate calls the girls his orchids...his pretty orchids...
Until the night the girls find themselves on a dark highway, bruised and bloodied.
How did paradise turn so ugly?
Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti question the terrified girls. But Hayley and Gemma are telling two very different stories of what happened to them over the past three months.
Which story is the truth and what are the girls covering up?
Young backpackers Gemma and Hayley arrive at a remote mango farm, out of money and desperate for work. The farm's owner, Tate Llewellyn, welcomes them in with open arms. An enigmatic, wealthy chemist, Tate spends his days running his hobby farm and cultivating rare orchids in his greenhouse.
The weeks go on, a blur of fruit-picking with the other international backpackers, parties, campfires and wading beneath waterfalls in the nearby hot springs. Tate calls the girls his orchids...his pretty orchids...
Until the night the girls find themselves on a dark highway, bruised and bloodied.
How did paradise turn so ugly?
Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti question the terrified girls. But Hayley and Gemma are telling two very different stories of what happened to them over the past three months.
Which story is the truth and what are the girls covering up?
428 pages, ebook
First published May 13, 2019
4142 people are currently reading
5145 people want to read
About the author
Sarah A. Denzil
46 books2,504 followersSarah A. Denzil is a Wall Street Journal bestselling suspense writer. She is also known as young adult author Sarah Dalton.
Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.
She is the author of international bestselling psychological thriller SILENT CHILD, which topped the bestseller lists on Amazon in the US, UK and Australia.
You can read now read AIDEN'S STORY, a short story and sequel to SILENT CHILD. It's completely free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/n7lb74chp3
Find out more at: http://www.sarahdenzil.com/
Join the newsletter for updates: http://eepurl.com/cwAmZD
Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahadenzil
Check out her Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/sarahadenzil/
Email: sarah@sarahdenzil.com
Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.
She is the author of international bestselling psychological thriller SILENT CHILD, which topped the bestseller lists on Amazon in the US, UK and Australia.
You can read now read AIDEN'S STORY, a short story and sequel to SILENT CHILD. It's completely free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/n7lb74chp3
Find out more at: http://www.sarahdenzil.com/
Join the newsletter for updates: http://eepurl.com/cwAmZD
Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahadenzil
Check out her Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/sarahadenzil/
Email: sarah@sarahdenzil.com
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 591 reviews
June 4, 2019
When Gemma met English girl, Hayley in Sydney, the enticing brochure of a mango farm in the Northern Territory, not far from Katherine, seemed exciting. But with little money, the girls decided to hitchhike. A long way, but eventually they arrived. The farm was a happy place – the backpackers who picked the fruit seemed to delight in their work, and soon Gemma and Hayley joined in. It was exhausting but satisfying work. The owner, Tate Llewellyn, made sure his staff had leisure time at the nearby water pools, where they could kayak, swim, camp and generally relax. The orchid greenhouse was off limits because of temperature control, but occasionally Tate invited certain girls in to see what he was doing – his pretty orchids.
Gemma and Hayley were bloodied and bruised when picked up on the highway by police at the site of a tanker crash. Their stories to Detectives Bronwen McKay and Joe Koulos, as well as psychologist Megan Arlotti differed vastly from one another – the confusion the police felt was mirrored by everyone around the two girls. What was going on? What horrors would they find in this strange investigation?
Poison Orchids by Aussie author Anni Taylor is co-written with author Sarah A. Denzil and is a rippling, terrifying psychological thriller with a kick in its tail. Horrifying twists and turns, evil and psychosis threads through page after page – a hold-your-breath situation if ever I saw one! Highly recommended.
With thanks to author Anni Taylor for my digital uncorrected proof ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Gemma and Hayley were bloodied and bruised when picked up on the highway by police at the site of a tanker crash. Their stories to Detectives Bronwen McKay and Joe Koulos, as well as psychologist Megan Arlotti differed vastly from one another – the confusion the police felt was mirrored by everyone around the two girls. What was going on? What horrors would they find in this strange investigation?
Poison Orchids by Aussie author Anni Taylor is co-written with author Sarah A. Denzil and is a rippling, terrifying psychological thriller with a kick in its tail. Horrifying twists and turns, evil and psychosis threads through page after page – a hold-your-breath situation if ever I saw one! Highly recommended.
With thanks to author Anni Taylor for my digital uncorrected proof ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
June 6, 2019
Gemma and Hayley. Two very different girls. Hayley a backpacker from England, Gemma from Sydney. Both wanting to escape the sleazy boss of the Sydney bar where they work, they seize on a brochure offering fun and work in sunny northern Australia on a mango farm. It looks idyllic and so it seems at first but something is just a bit off key with the people working there and the owner, handsome, wealthy Tate Llewellyn seems too good to be true.
Some weeks later Gemma and Hayley are seen by a tanker driver running down the middle of the highway pursued by a man. Slamming on his brakes, the tanker overturns and explodes into a fireball. When the girls are later questioned in hospital they tell oddly different versions of their ordeal on the farm. With the help of a psychologist the police try to unravel the girls stories and investigate what they experienced on the farm and in the hands of their attacker, Rodney White.
This is a tightly plotted, well written psychological thriller. The farm is indeed creepy, almost cult-like in its practices and everyone seems way too happy. While I guessed some of what was happening early on, I was pulled along with the unfolding intrigue, lies and deception and totally unprepared for the final twist at the end. 4.5★
With thanks to Anni Taylor for a digital ARC to read
Some weeks later Gemma and Hayley are seen by a tanker driver running down the middle of the highway pursued by a man. Slamming on his brakes, the tanker overturns and explodes into a fireball. When the girls are later questioned in hospital they tell oddly different versions of their ordeal on the farm. With the help of a psychologist the police try to unravel the girls stories and investigate what they experienced on the farm and in the hands of their attacker, Rodney White.
This is a tightly plotted, well written psychological thriller. The farm is indeed creepy, almost cult-like in its practices and everyone seems way too happy. While I guessed some of what was happening early on, I was pulled along with the unfolding intrigue, lies and deception and totally unprepared for the final twist at the end. 4.5★
With thanks to Anni Taylor for a digital ARC to read
October 18, 2019
Wow, that was so good! Loved that it was set in outback Australia. I couldn't get enough of the story. Great characters and brilliant story 🤗
August 14, 2020
As the saying goes: There are three sides to a story, one, the other, and the truth.
Two women with two different but equally terrifying and rage inducing stories lay traumatized in an Australian hospital.
Here's what investigators know for sure:
1. Both girls were discovered beaten, raped and bloody on an isolated stretch of road at the site of a horrific accident.
2. Both girls spent some time picking mangos at Tate Lewellen’s farm.
3. Both girls remember escaping from and witnessing the burning death of their captor and would be murderer.
Problem is, that's where the facts and consistencies end. One woman remembers the “cold place.” The other remembers nothing but oppressive heat. One woman remembers a month’s long stint at Llewellyn farm. The other knows for certain that they were only there for two weeks before winding up in a straw lined cage in a serial rapist’s hovel. Only one girl is telling the “whole” truth, or so it would seem.
Just what kind of place is Tate Llewellyn running? Why does his “family” look “spacy” and cheerful all the time? Why do members of the “family” keep going missing? Why are certain members of the “family “allowed to access certain areas of the farm and others not? Who “comes at night,” and what has he or she done to put that kind of fear and dread in a senior family member’s eye? What else were Gemma and Hayley trying to escape that night, and are they really safe now?
Most importantly, who’s in league with the big bad wolf?
Part horror, part mystery, part psychological thriller and part police procedural, Sarah A. Denzil and Anni Taylor’s Poison Orchids delivers a gut-wrenching depiction of the profound and far-reaching consequences of familial discord, neglect and isolation.
The book also raises some important but perennial questions about manipulation and the power of suggestion. In particular, the book delves into the cyclical nature of mental and emotional abuse and sheds light on the pathology of the attractive, sexually magnetic, charismatic and insolated predator.
Anyone familiar with or old enough to remember media coverage of the Jonestown Massacre (I’ve linked to the disturbing event below) will recognize the various tactics these monsters employ in order to persuade needy and vulnerable people to relinquish their autonomy, families, finances and lives for the “cause/family/mission/deity.”
I’m focusing on Jonestown because its influence on the novel is heavy and unmistakable.
Here is footage from the event in question; if you are easily triggered by real violence and death, especially that againstand of children, heed the warning in the title, please. I wish I had.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMrFC...
For context, here is a safer and more informative documentary on Jonestown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqAC...
To continue, the authors make some cliched but useful points about power, privilege, and the constitutive criteria for victimhood.
One other thing I found especially interesting was the authors incorporation of music. They not only weave specific songs into the story but bring others to mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUNqs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G92FU...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feoMt...
I will say that the story does take a while to pick up, and the resolution is a bit rushed. Many of the characters, Tate in particular, could have been fleshed out a bit more. The story is told from several points of view, none of which are his.
We only have the word of the unreliable narrators that his motivations were what they were.
I understand why, for the most part, we needed to gradually learn of and experience the horror of who he was and what he was doing, but again, coming from *these* narrators, the big picture seems fuzzy, simplistic, and incomplete.
There is also a character death that, in my opinion, serves no purpose other than to ramp up readers' anger and horror; the lead up does an excellent enough job without it.
See status updates for other irritants.
Still, the creep factor and nail-biting suspense make up for it all. Also, the book ends with a twist that, depending on your reading of certain characters, you may or may not see coming.
Ultimately, this is a haunting, resonant tale, one that is all too real for families across this country and all over the globe. Four stars.
Further Reading:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-i...
https://www.culteducation.com/group/1...
Two women with two different but equally terrifying and rage inducing stories lay traumatized in an Australian hospital.
Here's what investigators know for sure:
1. Both girls were discovered beaten, raped and bloody on an isolated stretch of road at the site of a horrific accident.
2. Both girls spent some time picking mangos at Tate Lewellen’s farm.
3. Both girls remember escaping from and witnessing the burning death of their captor and would be murderer.
Problem is, that's where the facts and consistencies end. One woman remembers the “cold place.” The other remembers nothing but oppressive heat. One woman remembers a month’s long stint at Llewellyn farm. The other knows for certain that they were only there for two weeks before winding up in a straw lined cage in a serial rapist’s hovel. Only one girl is telling the “whole” truth, or so it would seem.
Just what kind of place is Tate Llewellyn running? Why does his “family” look “spacy” and cheerful all the time? Why do members of the “family” keep going missing? Why are certain members of the “family “allowed to access certain areas of the farm and others not? Who “comes at night,” and what has he or she done to put that kind of fear and dread in a senior family member’s eye? What else were Gemma and Hayley trying to escape that night, and are they really safe now?
Most importantly, who’s in league with the big bad wolf?
Part horror, part mystery, part psychological thriller and part police procedural, Sarah A. Denzil and Anni Taylor’s Poison Orchids delivers a gut-wrenching depiction of the profound and far-reaching consequences of familial discord, neglect and isolation.
The book also raises some important but perennial questions about manipulation and the power of suggestion. In particular, the book delves into the cyclical nature of mental and emotional abuse and sheds light on the pathology of the attractive, sexually magnetic, charismatic and insolated predator.
Anyone familiar with or old enough to remember media coverage of the Jonestown Massacre (I’ve linked to the disturbing event below) will recognize the various tactics these monsters employ in order to persuade needy and vulnerable people to relinquish their autonomy, families, finances and lives for the “cause/family/mission/deity.”
I’m focusing on Jonestown because its influence on the novel is heavy and unmistakable.
Here is footage from the event in question; if you are easily triggered by real violence and death, especially that againstand of children, heed the warning in the title, please. I wish I had.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMrFC...
For context, here is a safer and more informative documentary on Jonestown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqAC...
To continue, the authors make some cliched but useful points about power, privilege, and the constitutive criteria for victimhood.
One other thing I found especially interesting was the authors incorporation of music. They not only weave specific songs into the story but bring others to mind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUNqs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G92FU...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feoMt...
I will say that the story does take a while to pick up, and the resolution is a bit rushed. Many of the characters, Tate in particular, could have been fleshed out a bit more. The story is told from several points of view, none of which are his.
We only have the word of the unreliable narrators that his motivations were what they were.
I understand why, for the most part, we needed to gradually learn of and experience the horror of who he was and what he was doing, but again, coming from *these* narrators, the big picture seems fuzzy, simplistic, and incomplete.
There is also a character death that, in my opinion, serves no purpose other than to ramp up readers' anger and horror; the lead up does an excellent enough job without it.
See status updates for other irritants.
Still, the creep factor and nail-biting suspense make up for it all. Also, the book ends with a twist that, depending on your reading of certain characters, you may or may not see coming.
Ultimately, this is a haunting, resonant tale, one that is all too real for families across this country and all over the globe. Four stars.
Further Reading:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-i...
https://www.culteducation.com/group/1...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2021
Good book but bad police work
The story was good, but I can’t help but feel like these were the dumbest police officers that were on the case. It never occurred to them that the head of the mango farm, who everyone calls The Chemist and is in big time pharma, may be experimenting on his workers???
The story was good, but I can’t help but feel like these were the dumbest police officers that were on the case. It never occurred to them that the head of the mango farm, who everyone calls The Chemist and is in big time pharma, may be experimenting on his workers???
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2020
The most I can say about this one is that it was... fine. It was a bit of a bait and switch, to be honest.
Haley and Gemma are found on the side of the road, bruised and bloody. The man they were running from, their captor, is dead. The truck driver who happened upon them and saved them is badly injured. When police begin investigating, they find a house of horror. There are corpses everywhere, all frozen in a fairly gruesome tableau. At this point I was pretty interested in the story.
The story was made even more intriguing by the fact that Haley and Gemma are telling different stories. They both agree that they were hitchhiking around Australia, eventually working on a mango farm, when they were kidnapped and held hostage by the man who's now dead. But that's all they agree on. One of them says they were on the orchard farm for a couple of weeks and held hostage for months. The other says they were picking mangos for an entire summer and were only being held for a few days. Their conflicting stories are making the case more difficult than it should be to investigate, especially considering that it should be fairly straightforward. Their abductor is dead. How hard can it be?
But then we went back in time to the beginning, and that's where the story started to drag for me. The entire middle of the book just dragged. And, look. I fully admit that I'm not a very sympathetic person. I'm really not. so take my opinion on this with a grain of salt. But these girls - that mango farm - GIRL. YOU ARE IN A CULT. GTFO. It was extremely frustrating to me that these girls suddenly start losing chunks of time, having extremely vivid nightmares, forgetting where they had been, what they had done, who they had met, and never, not one time, did either of them think "Huh. This seems a little weird." They feel anxious, stressed, worried about something, Tate, the owner of the mango farm, offers them some tea or coffee, and suddenly they feel great. All of their worries have melted away. And not one time did either of them say to the other, "Do you ever notice that we feel like this after tea or coffee?" They just think "Huh. Magic, I guess." It's so, so frustrating.
And this goes on for hundreds of pages. Well, I assume it does. It went on for hours in the audiobook. Hours of this. It dragged on for too long, and was entirely too repetitive. The cops and the psychologist assigned to the case weren't any better. I expect adults, cops especially, to be a little less susceptible to Tate and his manipulations. That's literally their job. They're supposed to see through his shit and figure out what's been going on. And even if one of them was going to fall for it (and it had to be the female detective, didn't it? Hard eyeroll) why would all of them have been fooled by him? Why would the psychologist, when she finally gets an inkling that Tate might not be a great guy, ignore all of the training I assume she's had and go running out there alone without telling anyone where she was going to confront him?
The narration by Aimee Horne was the best part of it. Her narration of Tate, in particular, was so effective. She was able to really embody that calm, rational voice of someone telling you that you're wrong about everything and don't know what's in your own head. I could understand how the girls fell under his spell, though it was still supremely frustrating when they were away from him and still couldn't see the manipulation. And I still think the adults should have known better.
No one acted in a rational manner. No one. I could understand the teenage girls, I guess, even though it was frustrating to listen to for so many hours, but even the adults were ridiculous. Considering how much promise this story had, I was pretty let down by the execution.
This review was originally posted on [Crime Mattters]
Haley and Gemma are found on the side of the road, bruised and bloody. The man they were running from, their captor, is dead. The truck driver who happened upon them and saved them is badly injured. When police begin investigating, they find a house of horror. There are corpses everywhere, all frozen in a fairly gruesome tableau. At this point I was pretty interested in the story.
The story was made even more intriguing by the fact that Haley and Gemma are telling different stories. They both agree that they were hitchhiking around Australia, eventually working on a mango farm, when they were kidnapped and held hostage by the man who's now dead. But that's all they agree on. One of them says they were on the orchard farm for a couple of weeks and held hostage for months. The other says they were picking mangos for an entire summer and were only being held for a few days. Their conflicting stories are making the case more difficult than it should be to investigate, especially considering that it should be fairly straightforward. Their abductor is dead. How hard can it be?
But then we went back in time to the beginning, and that's where the story started to drag for me. The entire middle of the book just dragged. And, look. I fully admit that I'm not a very sympathetic person. I'm really not. so take my opinion on this with a grain of salt. But these girls - that mango farm - GIRL. YOU ARE IN A CULT. GTFO. It was extremely frustrating to me that these girls suddenly start losing chunks of time, having extremely vivid nightmares, forgetting where they had been, what they had done, who they had met, and never, not one time, did either of them think "Huh. This seems a little weird." They feel anxious, stressed, worried about something, Tate, the owner of the mango farm, offers them some tea or coffee, and suddenly they feel great. All of their worries have melted away. And not one time did either of them say to the other, "Do you ever notice that we feel like this after tea or coffee?" They just think "Huh. Magic, I guess." It's so, so frustrating.
And this goes on for hundreds of pages. Well, I assume it does. It went on for hours in the audiobook. Hours of this. It dragged on for too long, and was entirely too repetitive. The cops and the psychologist assigned to the case weren't any better. I expect adults, cops especially, to be a little less susceptible to Tate and his manipulations. That's literally their job. They're supposed to see through his shit and figure out what's been going on. And even if one of them was going to fall for it (and it had to be the female detective, didn't it? Hard eyeroll) why would all of them have been fooled by him? Why would the psychologist, when she finally gets an inkling that Tate might not be a great guy, ignore all of the training I assume she's had and go running out there alone without telling anyone where she was going to confront him?
The narration by Aimee Horne was the best part of it. Her narration of Tate, in particular, was so effective. She was able to really embody that calm, rational voice of someone telling you that you're wrong about everything and don't know what's in your own head. I could understand how the girls fell under his spell, though it was still supremely frustrating when they were away from him and still couldn't see the manipulation. And I still think the adults should have known better.
No one acted in a rational manner. No one. I could understand the teenage girls, I guess, even though it was frustrating to listen to for so many hours, but even the adults were ridiculous. Considering how much promise this story had, I was pretty let down by the execution.
This review was originally posted on [Crime Mattters]
November 3, 2023
Forgiveness is not always an easy fix.
Wow! This book is insane. The story is extremely intense and very, very dark. I listened to the audiobook version. There were several times that I had to stop the recording because the content was so heavy. That is not to say that the story is not phenomenal, because it is. It's just a lot to digest. Definitely not a light read.
The story begins with two girls, Gemma and Hayley, who have escaped from a rapist. They were found running on the highway one night. A driver swerved to miss them and hit the man chasing them instead, killing the man. They're both brought to the hospital and placed in separate rooms. When the police begin to question them on what happened, however, there are inconsistencies in the stories of their abduction. One girl is telling a version of the story opposite of what the other is telling. Who's telling the truth? Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti, who have been assigned to the case, definitely have their work cut out for them.
When a building containing human bodies is found on the kidnappers' land, the case takes a more sinister turn.
Five 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 for this amazing novel. It was such a powerful story, it seeped its way into my dreams one night. 😁
Wow! This book is insane. The story is extremely intense and very, very dark. I listened to the audiobook version. There were several times that I had to stop the recording because the content was so heavy. That is not to say that the story is not phenomenal, because it is. It's just a lot to digest. Definitely not a light read.
The story begins with two girls, Gemma and Hayley, who have escaped from a rapist. They were found running on the highway one night. A driver swerved to miss them and hit the man chasing them instead, killing the man. They're both brought to the hospital and placed in separate rooms. When the police begin to question them on what happened, however, there are inconsistencies in the stories of their abduction. One girl is telling a version of the story opposite of what the other is telling. Who's telling the truth? Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti, who have been assigned to the case, definitely have their work cut out for them.
When a building containing human bodies is found on the kidnappers' land, the case takes a more sinister turn.
Five 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 for this amazing novel. It was such a powerful story, it seeped its way into my dreams one night. 😁
July 6, 2019
4.5 stars.
This book by British author Denzil was co-written with Australian author Anni Taylor. This was really, really good. Two young backpackers - Hayley and Gemma, are picked up on a highway late one night looking battered and bloody. They are taken to hospital. They appear to have escaped the clutches of a vicious man who kept them in squalid captivity. But, on being interviewed, their stories were quite inconsistent and the authorities - Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti are perplexed.
The girls had been fruit picking on a mango farm in the Northern Territory (of Australia) in a fairly remote area near Kakadu (national park). There's something really off about the place. The workers look like they're all on happy pills but everyone is co-operative, if a little cagey. McKay and Arlotti keep revisiting this farm as it seems to be central to some sort of puzzle which keeps getting stranger and stranger and deadlier... Read it, you won't regret it.
This book by British author Denzil was co-written with Australian author Anni Taylor. This was really, really good. Two young backpackers - Hayley and Gemma, are picked up on a highway late one night looking battered and bloody. They are taken to hospital. They appear to have escaped the clutches of a vicious man who kept them in squalid captivity. But, on being interviewed, their stories were quite inconsistent and the authorities - Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti are perplexed.
The girls had been fruit picking on a mango farm in the Northern Territory (of Australia) in a fairly remote area near Kakadu (national park). There's something really off about the place. The workers look like they're all on happy pills but everyone is co-operative, if a little cagey. McKay and Arlotti keep revisiting this farm as it seems to be central to some sort of puzzle which keeps getting stranger and stranger and deadlier... Read it, you won't regret it.
April 12, 2020
A dark and deep character driven psychological thriller!
Wow, what a twisted tale this co-authored novel weaves. The difficulty of telling a tale across time periods was very easy to follow and the story unfolded layer by layer.
The setting and plot are unique. Set in the Northern Territory of Australia, amidst magnificent scenery, is a mango farm, and as is so common, the prerequisite backpacker fruit pickers. Add in a dashing young tycoon with an interest in chemistry, and there the mind games begin.
A one-sitting thrilling page turner that revealed secret after secret! Completely engrossing and thoroughly enjoyable!
Wow, what a twisted tale this co-authored novel weaves. The difficulty of telling a tale across time periods was very easy to follow and the story unfolded layer by layer.
The setting and plot are unique. Set in the Northern Territory of Australia, amidst magnificent scenery, is a mango farm, and as is so common, the prerequisite backpacker fruit pickers. Add in a dashing young tycoon with an interest in chemistry, and there the mind games begin.
A one-sitting thrilling page turner that revealed secret after secret! Completely engrossing and thoroughly enjoyable!
January 15, 2021
This was a really addictive read! If you like fast-paced thriller/mysteries with many a twist and turn then I highly recommend this one.
Loved the setting, loved the characters, loved the story...totally hooked!
Loved the setting, loved the characters, loved the story...totally hooked!
June 24, 2019
Life's too short for bad books.
Great premise, poor execution.
Great premise, poor execution.
July 5, 2022
5✨
This was phenomenal. I literally could not put this book down!!
Poison Orchids follows Hayley and Gemma in the wake of escaping a brutal kidnapping, the lead detective on the case, and the psychologist charged with helping Hayley and Gemma. All of these women have their own POVs and each were so enjoyable to read. This book also takes place between multiple timelines—before the kidnapping and after.
I really can’t give much away because the plot was so twisty. I could not figure out who to trust and what to believe. The amazing writing duo also wove in a building sense of dread and suspense that I literally could not put this book down by part 3. I HAD to know what was happening next.
If you’re in the mood for a perfect summer thriller, please go read this!
TW:
Rape and sexual assault (mentioned, brief flashbacks)
Drug use
Needles
Kidnapping
Murder
Gore (brief)
This was phenomenal. I literally could not put this book down!!
Poison Orchids follows Hayley and Gemma in the wake of escaping a brutal kidnapping, the lead detective on the case, and the psychologist charged with helping Hayley and Gemma. All of these women have their own POVs and each were so enjoyable to read. This book also takes place between multiple timelines—before the kidnapping and after.
I really can’t give much away because the plot was so twisty. I could not figure out who to trust and what to believe. The amazing writing duo also wove in a building sense of dread and suspense that I literally could not put this book down by part 3. I HAD to know what was happening next.
If you’re in the mood for a perfect summer thriller, please go read this!
TW:
Rape and sexual assault (mentioned, brief flashbacks)
Drug use
Needles
Kidnapping
Murder
Gore (brief)
January 17, 2020
I’m a big fan of Sarah A. Denzil’s books so was just as eager to read Poison Orchids which she has co written with Anni Taylor. It didn’t disappoint and has introduced a new author to me, having not heard of Anni Taylor before.
The beginning of this story grabbed be right away. I was dying to know more about Gemma and Hayley and what had happened to them. I was cheering Megan on in being able to get to the bottom of just what had happened with their time at the farm.
The story starts off with both girls being in hospital, questioned by the police and psychologist. Then we are taken back to the girls meeting and their time at the farm. This was the best part for me as I knew that it wouldn’t be long before everything started to unravel and I learned all the farms secrets.
I loved the mixed purpose of the farm. Orchids have to be one of my favourite flowers and I could visualise the areas that they are kept in. Whilst the fruit picking sounded a bit painful due to the sap, this is the main reason for the pickers being there and to start with it looks like a lot of fun. Whilst there is a lot of hard work involved as well as some strict rules, it almost seems like one happy family with Tate at the helm.
It’s actually quite an atmospheric read set in Australia, on a farm with great views and the heat. At times I was quite envious but as things started to get a bit weird, like the girls, I was starting to get some really bad vibes. I certainly wasn’t prepared for just what horrors awaited me.
Poison Orchids will definitely have you tearing through the pages. Everytime I put this book down, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again as the need to know was so intense. The story focuses more on Gemma and Hayley but I really enjoyed Bronwen and Megan’s roles. There are plenty of twists and turns of which the story line in itself was enough to hold me captive. A dark and disturbing psychological thriller, just how I like them.
The beginning of this story grabbed be right away. I was dying to know more about Gemma and Hayley and what had happened to them. I was cheering Megan on in being able to get to the bottom of just what had happened with their time at the farm.
The story starts off with both girls being in hospital, questioned by the police and psychologist. Then we are taken back to the girls meeting and their time at the farm. This was the best part for me as I knew that it wouldn’t be long before everything started to unravel and I learned all the farms secrets.
I loved the mixed purpose of the farm. Orchids have to be one of my favourite flowers and I could visualise the areas that they are kept in. Whilst the fruit picking sounded a bit painful due to the sap, this is the main reason for the pickers being there and to start with it looks like a lot of fun. Whilst there is a lot of hard work involved as well as some strict rules, it almost seems like one happy family with Tate at the helm.
It’s actually quite an atmospheric read set in Australia, on a farm with great views and the heat. At times I was quite envious but as things started to get a bit weird, like the girls, I was starting to get some really bad vibes. I certainly wasn’t prepared for just what horrors awaited me.
Poison Orchids will definitely have you tearing through the pages. Everytime I put this book down, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again as the need to know was so intense. The story focuses more on Gemma and Hayley but I really enjoyed Bronwen and Megan’s roles. There are plenty of twists and turns of which the story line in itself was enough to hold me captive. A dark and disturbing psychological thriller, just how I like them.
June 15, 2019
Setting: Northern Territory, Australia; present day. This was a great collaboration between Derbyshire author Sarah Denzil and Australian author Anni Taylor - both of which are authors with whom I am familiar. What appears to be a straightforward case when two young women are found battered and bruised at an isolated roadside location becomes so much more when their stories about their captivity do not tally. The common denominator appears to be a mango farm, run by the son of a millionaire pharmacist, where backpackers like the women go to work to earn some money. The police investigation casts suspicion over the mango farm but nothing can be confirmed. Having started off when the women are found, the second section of the book goes back in time several months and traces the events leading up to their assault - this story is full of unexpected twists and turns and then even more twists and turns within those. A great read - 9/10.
August 3, 2021
So good! I expected this story to be a bit intriguing and I thought I had it figured out early on. Wow, I really did not! It ended up being a rich thriller full of vivid characters and a much more interesting plot than I had anticipated. I can see why someone's review suggested it as a Netflix series - yes! I would love to see it on the screen! The narrator was excellent and managed a variety of international accents. Highly recommended.
May 12, 2020
Interesting idea, but it got kind of messy at the end. 2.5 stars.
April 21, 2020
4.5★'s!
The long-haul driver squints at the milky haze created by his headlights and spots two teenage girls. But the figures are swallowed up by the dark again.
His eyes are playing tricks—surely. He's been on the road too long tonight. No one would be out here in the middle of this lonely highway. Must have been an effect of the heat and rain. The bucketing showers of the past hour have subsided to a drizzle, and he can almost hear steam hissing from the hot road. January is in the wet season in Australia's Northern Territory.
This is the kind of night his wife worries about the most. She hates the thought of his petrol tanker being out on a slippery, obscured road. The Stuart Highway stretches for almost three thousand kilometres across the dead centre of the country, from top to bottom. Right now, he's somewhere near Kakadu, at the top end.
Just as he has himself convinced he saw a mirage, two figures tear away from a deep, black patch beside the glow of his headlights.
The girls.
Running straight for his tanker. Cuts and bruises on their faces. Blood spattered on their short white dresses. There’s a man too. Chasing them.
Hell.
He can’t stop—
He swings the tanker off-road, the tons of fuel-laden steel behind his cab jackknifing and skidding on the uneven ground and rocks. Then comes an unholy grinding noise as the tanker rolls hard on its side.
Five hundred litres of fuel explode into an orange fire that mushrooms into the sky.
The next thing he sees is an abbreviated view of rocky ground through the only clear spot in his smashed windscreen, and two pairs of bare female legs racing towards him.
********
Audiobook, Poison Orchids by Anni Taylor and Sarah A. Denzil, is a heart pounding thriller that starts out with a bang and keeps you listening to the very end!
Narrator, Aimee Horne, performs this story flawlessly! She deftly pulls out every emotion off the pages causing the listeners to FEEL what was happening without a conscious thought! The individual voices she gives each character makes it easy to follow the storyline.
Overall this is a thrilling book performed by an experienced, 5★ narrator!
The long-haul driver squints at the milky haze created by his headlights and spots two teenage girls. But the figures are swallowed up by the dark again.
His eyes are playing tricks—surely. He's been on the road too long tonight. No one would be out here in the middle of this lonely highway. Must have been an effect of the heat and rain. The bucketing showers of the past hour have subsided to a drizzle, and he can almost hear steam hissing from the hot road. January is in the wet season in Australia's Northern Territory.
This is the kind of night his wife worries about the most. She hates the thought of his petrol tanker being out on a slippery, obscured road. The Stuart Highway stretches for almost three thousand kilometres across the dead centre of the country, from top to bottom. Right now, he's somewhere near Kakadu, at the top end.
Just as he has himself convinced he saw a mirage, two figures tear away from a deep, black patch beside the glow of his headlights.
The girls.
Running straight for his tanker. Cuts and bruises on their faces. Blood spattered on their short white dresses. There’s a man too. Chasing them.
Hell.
He can’t stop—
He swings the tanker off-road, the tons of fuel-laden steel behind his cab jackknifing and skidding on the uneven ground and rocks. Then comes an unholy grinding noise as the tanker rolls hard on its side.
Five hundred litres of fuel explode into an orange fire that mushrooms into the sky.
The next thing he sees is an abbreviated view of rocky ground through the only clear spot in his smashed windscreen, and two pairs of bare female legs racing towards him.
********
Audiobook, Poison Orchids by Anni Taylor and Sarah A. Denzil, is a heart pounding thriller that starts out with a bang and keeps you listening to the very end!
Narrator, Aimee Horne, performs this story flawlessly! She deftly pulls out every emotion off the pages causing the listeners to FEEL what was happening without a conscious thought! The individual voices she gives each character makes it easy to follow the storyline.
Overall this is a thrilling book performed by an experienced, 5★ narrator!
June 30, 2019
Deadly cults: Not for me
I am sorry to say but this was not a book for me. It really was a story of a psychopathic cult leader and I actually I ended up skimming through more than half. Long, drawn out and confusing.
I am sorry to say but this was not a book for me. It really was a story of a psychopathic cult leader and I actually I ended up skimming through more than half. Long, drawn out and confusing.
January 8, 2020
I've gone back and forth between 3 and 4 stars several times, and finally settled on 3... I loved the first half of the book... but once things started to be revealed, it seemed like just too much for me. I couldn't wrap my brain around it and I didn't really like any of the characters anymore at that point. I am ok with unrealistic writing... but I need the unrealistic to come across as believable and it just wasn't believable to me.
On the other hand, one thing I loved was the epilogue/ending... I didn't see that coming, and that did fit in very well with the whole story. Overall, I enjoyed the book... but it didn't overwhelm me with excitement in the 2nd half and I found myself wishing it would hurry up.
On the other hand, one thing I loved was the epilogue/ending... I didn't see that coming, and that did fit in very well with the whole story. Overall, I enjoyed the book... but it didn't overwhelm me with excitement in the 2nd half and I found myself wishing it would hurry up.
July 12, 2019
Such an exciting story! I will be looking for more books written by Anni and Sarah.
June 30, 2021
Not bad but a little too drawn out.
August 5, 2019
Twisty! Exciting! Addictive! Thrilling! Suspenseful! Keeps you guessing! Everything you could want in a psychological thriller with a HUGE, unexpected twist.
August 16, 2020
I really liked this. The plot was intense and really interesting, following the events that circled two female victims who have two completely different recollections of their experience with a psychopath in addition to evidence that don't match either stay.
I couldn't put it down and I finished listening to 12 hours worth of this book in just three days. However, while it was definitely a memorable and enjoyable read, I didn't really love the characters. Aside the psychologist, I did think that everyone, including the detectives were a bit too slow at figuring out what certain evidence means for my liking. The police were were horrible at their job and I wasn't even attached to them as characters, so I really would've loved if different, more effective detectives were working on the case to make it a lot less frustrating. The story could've been done a lot quicker if the characters had been a little smarter in a couple occasions. That said, this was definitely different from a lot of the other thrillers I've read before.
I couldn't put it down and I finished listening to 12 hours worth of this book in just three days. However, while it was definitely a memorable and enjoyable read, I didn't really love the characters. Aside the psychologist, I did think that everyone, including the detectives were a bit too slow at figuring out what certain evidence means for my liking. The police were were horrible at their job and I wasn't even attached to them as characters, so I really would've loved if different, more effective detectives were working on the case to make it a lot less frustrating. The story could've been done a lot quicker if the characters had been a little smarter in a couple occasions. That said, this was definitely different from a lot of the other thrillers I've read before.
July 8, 2019
I came across this book as I was browsing books. The cover caught my eye and I had to know what it was about. The synopsis sounded interesting so I went for it. This book is one wild ride! I gave up trying to figure out things and just enjoyed the rollercoaster ride. Gemma and Hayley are found on the side of the road at night. Each tell their side of the story but it’s obvious to detectives that there’s more to what happened to them. As the story unfolds with each chapter, you realize nothing is what it seems. This is a thrilling and suspense filled book that will keep you engrossed till the very end. This is the first book I’ve read by these authors and I will check out more from them. I give this 5 stars.
March 21, 2023
A cult disguised as a mango picking farm in outback australia. An exciting psychological thriller with intriguing characters and a mind bending plot. Targeting international backpackers and manipulating them into staying using mind control to mould their minds to forget traumatic events and to believe a completely different narrative.
(Trigger warning for self harm, suicide and rape)
(Trigger warning for self harm, suicide and rape)
October 23, 2019
3.5 stars. interesting and strange psychological thriller with lots of unexpected twists and ureliable narrators. I enjoyed the first 3/4 of this a lot, then it went so crazy in the last 1/4 and dragged on a bit longer than it really needed to, so I had to knock off a half star.
February 9, 2020
Readers beware this book is dark! You read the synopsis and think it’s gonna be dark, and it gets darker! If you can handle it, it’s a great story with a ton of suspense. Great A Ha moments and an ending you probably won’t see coming.
dnf
July 17, 2022the premise sounded sooooooooooooooo goooood, but its actually a exageration of what actually happens on the book.
Its a fairly predictable, not really well written book.
Its a fairly predictable, not really well written book.
May 21, 2019
Firstly thanks to the authors for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review, I appreciate it. I am a fan of both authors so was excited to read it. I was not disappointed!
I really enjoyed this book, there was so many levels to it. I thought this was going to be a backpacker type murder like Wolf Creek but oh my goodness there is so much more to it. It's full of mystery, darkness, evil and suspense.
This story was fascinating, it kept me engaged right the way through the book. I read it in super quick time because I found it hard to put down, I really wanted to know what was going to happen next! How can something as simple as a fruit picking job at a mango farm go so wrong? Who can you trust? Who are your friends?
As I progressed through the book I had a few wow moments, the web of deceit was woven so tightly and cleverly that I couldn't guess what was going to happen next, every page turn was a pleasant surprise and kept me guessing and intrigued.
If you are a mystery/thriller fan I recommend that you read this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and don't hesitate to give it 5 stars.
I really enjoyed this book, there was so many levels to it. I thought this was going to be a backpacker type murder like Wolf Creek but oh my goodness there is so much more to it. It's full of mystery, darkness, evil and suspense.
This story was fascinating, it kept me engaged right the way through the book. I read it in super quick time because I found it hard to put down, I really wanted to know what was going to happen next! How can something as simple as a fruit picking job at a mango farm go so wrong? Who can you trust? Who are your friends?
As I progressed through the book I had a few wow moments, the web of deceit was woven so tightly and cleverly that I couldn't guess what was going to happen next, every page turn was a pleasant surprise and kept me guessing and intrigued.
If you are a mystery/thriller fan I recommend that you read this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and don't hesitate to give it 5 stars.
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