Hello!
I have my review of Savage to Savvy by Kate Rigby to share with you this afternoon.
Here’s the blurb . . .
Psychology graduate, Heidi Harper is appointed to work with Professor Mala, pioneer of a new project to rehabilitate dog-reared feral child, Nicki. Heidi is soon asking questions and her mission takes on sinister overtones. As the truth outs, the lives of all concerned begin to unravel. Savage To Savvy is a psychological novel.
My thoughts . . .
The plot of this story is a terrifying idea.
A young girl is found to have been reared by dogs and is completely feral. Rescued by Professor Mala and his team at The Laurels, Nicki is learning how to live life as a human. The day-to-day struggles that Nicki faces are quite hard to read, things like eating with cutlery instead of on the floor using only her mouth and it really did make me feel so sorry for her. As a mother I can’t imagine what it would be like for your child to go through something like that.
I found parts of the book confusing, with the chapters jumping between the characters it was a little difficult to keep up and some of the narrative written from Nicki’s point of view didn’t make sense to me as she was supposed to have been raised by dogs yet knew lots of things you wouldn’t expect her to know.
Heidi is the newly qualified psychologist and she looks up to Professor Mala, he is after all a genius in his field. A well revered and respected man, he wouldn’t be involved in anything underhand . . . would he?
I found Heidi to be quite wishy-washy, she knew something wasn’t right and she wasn’t happy with certain things but she didn’t do anything about it, she kind of just goes with the flow to start and I found myself getting wound up by her. Professor Mala is pure evil and you get that impression right from the start. It’s easy from a readers point of view to see through his façade and see him for what he really is.
All in all Savage to Savvy is a good book, the plot is twisted and gritty and really quite original. I’m not sure I’d class it as a psychological thriller but it certainly does get you thinking about how easy it can be manipulate and influence people if you know how, which is a very scary thought!
I’d like to thank the author for my copy.
You can get your copy over at Amazon UK
About the author . . .
Kate Rigby has been writing for over thirty years. She realized her unhip credentials were mounting so decided to write about it.
However she’s not completely unhip. Her punk novel, Fall Of The Flamingo Circus was published by Allison & Busby (1990) and by Villard (American hardback 1990). Skrev Press published her novels Seaview Terrace (2003) Sucka! (2004) and Break Point (2006) and other shorter work has appeared in Skrev’s avant garde magazine Texts’ Bones including a version of her satirical novella Lost The Plot.
Thalidomide Kid was published by Bewrite Books (2007).
Her book Little Guide to Unhip was published by Night Publishing (2010).
She has had other short stories published and shortlisted including Hard Workers and Headboards, first published in The Diva Book of Short Stories and also as part of the Dancing In The Dark erotic anthology (Pfoxmoor 2011).
She also received a Southern Arts bursary for her novel Where A Shadow Played (now ‘Did You Whisper Back?’).
Titles now available on Kindle and other e-books are:
Little Guide to Unhip (also in paperback*)
Thalidomide Kid
Seaview Terrace
Far Cry From The Turquoise Room (also in paperback*)
Break Point
Suckers n Scallies
Down The Tubes (also in paperback*)
Tales By Kindlelight (soon to be in paperback, summer 2016)
Savage To Savvy (also available in paperback*)
Did You Whisper Back?
Fall Of The Flamingo Circus
She Looks Pale (soon to be in paperback, summer 2016)
The Dead Club
Fruit Woman
Short Stories:
Family Tradition
Coats
On Your Half Century
Sharing Sarah
Cutting Edge
Hard Workers
Headboards
* paperbacks available by following the Amazon link where listed
Details about Kate’s work can be found at her website:
Or her occasional blogs can be found at:
Emma The Little Bookworm 