The Delivery by Michelle Powers
Intense, Intriguing, Suspenseful
As well as having been unceremoniously dismissed from a promising career, and finding herself in the position of having to take the first vacancy available, that would mean a continuation in her earning potential in order to make the rent, and most importantly heat her home in the bitterly cold climate in which she was currently living, Jess Morgan’s life now seemed comparatively lonely and the work she had taken, keeping her isolated from others. It carried with it, an element of vulnerability, something that doesn’t occur to her until she selects a job that as well as unnerving her, heightens her curiosity, plunging her into a web of deceit, lies and terror, of which she is unwittingly at the centre. 
The is the third book from Michelle Powers that I have read and by the looks of her list of books at the back of this one, I have only just scratched the surface. Having been congratulating myself on reading her three stand alone novels, I am in fact playing catch up! However, this is not a genre that I am often drawn to read, but I have been impressed with what I’ve read from this author thus far. ‘The Delivery’ is probably my favourite as it delivers (no pun intended) suspense in spades. Had I had the time available to me, I probably would have sat for as long as it took, to read this in one go. Michelle also gave me personally, curveballs that I did not see coming at all, which is rare. 
Michelle cleverly develops the story by interjecting lots of different characters, some of whom appear random and superfluous to the main narrative. For a time the reader is left feeling that the writing has moved further away from the original story and wonder whether it will ever return to the scenarios originally presented. Then she rapidly whips around, tying all the loose threads together when least expected, even if it isn’t done until the end, making much more of an impact. Up until the perpetrator was introduced, a character I originally thought was a bit random, there had been a smattering of side characters that had been established, which served to divert the reader’s concentration, a tool, I have noticed, that Michelle has used previously. The fate of poor Ms Wentworth wasn’t clear to me right until the end, although made fairly obvious by that point. I had my suspicions about Frank given how much onus he had over where the original offences had taken place. Then the mention of Mia arriving at Jess’s apartment dressed in black, set off alarm bells in my brain, although I had had my doubts about her prior to this particular scene. The way in which Jess is lured into this plot of historical vendettas introducing a plethora of prudently planned bloodline, who gradually appear or are uncovered, adds copious amounts of intrigue to an already unsettling thread of events. In every chapter Michelle’s writing paints an extremely tangible picture for the reader’s imagination. 
The primary perpetrator has been gifted exceptionally chilling dialogue together with a dry sarcasm through which, their identity can be interpreted in many forms. I really felt Jess’s trauma as she realises that she recognises her surroundings, recalls her last encounter there and the poignancy of the affiliation she now has with it. It was at this point that I was a little concerned that what was to come, may contain a particular trigger for me, but then I guessed Michelle would probably have written something about that prior to the Prologue, as that alone is enough to make a reader think twice as to whether they wish to delve deeper into the pages of this haunting saga. A most unexpected character is then introduced. This was the shocking twist for me, and was most likely intended to be so. The way the reader is fed information about her earlier on in the narrative, leading them to believe that she is something of a side character and therefore not of much consequence, is a smart ploy. However, the way she is developed, and the persona which she is given, lends the story a central force, a figure with whom the reader can really get behind the motivation driving her behaviour albeit, abhorrent. 
What I would have liked to have known was, how these two people came to be able to collaborate in their shared desire for retribution. It frustrated me that Jess didn’t realise the identity of this person until later on. Given her penchant for viewing ‘crime documentaries’, and that she is in fact in the middle of her own, I would have thought that she would have committed all the information she had learnt to memory, as well as Leo’s phone number. I must give the author kudos for swerving the continence kidnap issue too whilst Jess’s unknown gift for escapology felt a little too convenient. I also wonder how anyone can imagine that they would feel safe living in the middle of a wood, but each to their own. 
This novel has certainly earned its right to be placed under the genre of ‘mystery thriller’, together with an undertone of romance and chivalry, both of which fit the narrative perfectly and made this book very compelling.
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