“Iris Henderson wakes up in a hospital bed alone, with no memory of why or how she got there. Moments later, she is introduced to her husband Marcus, a man she does not even recognise. And things only get stranger from there.

Iris is told that she volunteered to be the first test-subject for a ground-breaking AI therapy, and that she is the pioneering scientist behind the experimental treatment.

Whilst everyone warns her to leave it alone, a confused Iris continually scratches beneath the surface of her seemingly happy marriage and successful career, setting a catastrophic chain of events in motion.

Secrets will be revealed that have the capacity to destroy her whole life, but Iris can’t stop digging…”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to be one of two blogs kicking off The Glass Woman blog tour. The Glass Woman by Alice McIlroy is published by Datura Books today (that’s Tuesday 2nd January 2024) and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free ARC of The Glass Woman but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Ruth Killick and Caroline at Datura Books for sending me a finished copy.

Iris Henderson is 35 years old and works at the London Research Institute. She’s married to Marcus but when we first meet her, she has no memory of their life together. Marcus is a stranger to his wife. Confused and unsure of what is happening, Iris is drip fed information by her doctor and her husband. She has undergone an operation to implant a piece of AI technology in her brain. The tech – named Ariel – will permanently remove all of Iris’s traumatic, painful memories, downloading them to a central system. She has four weeks before Ariel fully integrates and her memories are gone forever. Iris can’t help but feel that something somewhere is very wrong so starts to try and recall her traumatic past. But the more she digs, the more questions she has. Unsure who to trust, unsure if she can even trust herself, Iris starts down a path of discovery that ultimately could be the death of her…

The Glass Woman is a thoroughly engaging speculative thriller that really gets under the reader’s skin. It’s a nuanced, complex, sophisticated read which psychological suspense fans will gobble up with glee. Particularly if you like a different, slightly twisted take on things. Iris wakes up in a hospital room surrounded by unfamiliar faces, including the man she’s informed is her husband. Unsure how she arrived there and struggling to believe what she’s being told, she is the epitome of the unreliable narrator. The supporting characters only add to the confusion and general untrustworthiness of the prose as important information is clearly being kept from our lead protagonist. This only heightens the well-written intrigue and adds more suspense and suspicion to proceedings.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Glass Woman is a cleverly written psychological suspense novel with a terrifying, futuristic edge that ramps up the tension tenfold. Thought-provoking from start to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed this genre-bending debut and look forward to reading more from the author in the future. The characters are well-written and believable. There are plenty of secrets for the reader to discover along the way, which you do alongside Iris. The science aspect of the novel wasn’t too heavy and didn’t go into detail too deeply which I appreciated, as someone who doesn’t tend to read a lot of science or speculative fiction. The novel was well paced and kept my attention from start to finish. There are several moments of  introspection with Iris trying to recall her past and discover what she herself was running away from. All beautifully written but I did find they slowed the story down a little. All in all, I enjoyed this chilling story with its ominous edge, claustrophobic feel and impending sense of doom. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of The Glass Woman. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Glass Woman by Alice McIlroy was published in the UK by Datura Books on 2nd January 2024 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Alice McIlroy’s writing has been longlisted for the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction and Grindstone International Novel Prize. Her debut novel, The Glass Woman, will be published on 2nd January 2024 by Datura/Angry Robot Books.