Not so Imaginary by Ali Luke

"Your "imaginary friends" aren't imaginary at all.

And they're definitely not your friends. 


When Ruth tracks her foster brother Jonathan to a flat in South London, she's hoping for a happy reunion.

But Jonathan tells her he can't talk to her and slams the door in her face.

They've been apart since they were children - but she's never stopped being his sister. And when she realises he's in danger, she vows to protect him, no matter what.

***

Jonathan's website design business is thriving.

It came at a price.

Flint and Corwin, the two "imaginary friends" that have been with him since childhood take it in turns to tell him what to do. Corwin is calm, organised ... and ridiculously uptight. Flint is wildly carefree ... and savagely dangerous.

Jonathan's in too deep to escape. There's no-one he can turn to: he's forbidden to contact Ruth.

He's not even supposed to think about her.

Then she moves into the flat next door.

Clear your evening and sink into this pacy story of a brother and sister, and two not-so-imaginary "friends". "

The story begins from the middle of Ruth's life who is obsessed over finding her foster brother whom she lost contact with a long time ago. While everyone believed that Jon wanted to go live with his uncle and aunt Ruth never believed it for even a second. She had seen him cry while leaving and many other times leading to that moment.

So when Ruth found him almost by miracle she left her world and moved next to his. But his world is dangerous and it's other inhabitants wants Jon nothing to do with Ruth.
Ruth hates it that Jon is shutting her out but what can she do?
But suddenly it seems that Jon is in trouble and it is something which is beyond  Ruth's wildest imagination.
Will Ruth be able to free him from those who is intertwined in his life?
Or will Jon be lost forever to her?

An interesting story. As expected from author Ali Luke. It was short but no less good for that.
I specially love the way she explores the dark recess of human mind which has nothing to do with the supernatural darkness but rather the darkness hidden in depths of our own soul.
While it was a good supernatural story it's psychological depth makes it unique.
As usual it is also quite dark, incorporating various scenes of violence and torture in details.
It is definitely not a light read but something which will make a person think about the deepest part of their consciousness.

AUTHOR BIO

 

Ali Luke loves writing (and reading!) fast-paced novels with a touch of the supernatural. While writing, she likes to listen to Metallica and drink hot chocolate. When she's not writing, she reads pretty much anything she can get her hands on, cross-stitches occasionally, and plays board games / card games (Dominion and Eight-Minute Empire are current favourites).

She lives in Leeds in the UK with her husband and two young children; she was born in Cambridge and after a stint in Oxford aged 10 - 18, she returned there to university to study English Literature. After a few years in London, during which she gained an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths College, she married, spent some time living near family in Oxford, then headed north.