Award: Awesome Indies: APPROVED
Categories: Psychological Thriller, Thrillers and Suspense
Author: Kate Rigby
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.
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Assessed for Awesome Indies
27 February 2017
4.5 stars
Overall Assessment
Heidi is hired as a research assistant at a development institute where she encounters Nicki, a young feral girl raised by dogs. Nicki is the subject of an experiment to prove that children not exposed to language at an early, critical stage, can nonetheless be taught language, grammar and other skills. Heidi learns, however, that this experiment with Nicki has a macabre twist.
Character and Plot
The characters in this book are well-developed, and put on display bit by bit as the story unfolds. Heidi and Nicki are the main protagonists, but the supporting characters, mainly the Professor, are developed indirectly. I sensed two story lines here; one was Nicki’s efforts to reclaim a dimly-remembered past and rediscover her humanity, and the other was Heidi’s exposure of the Professor’s inhuman and inhumane experimentation. Incident by incident unfolds, and the reader is made aware of what happened, by whom, and why, in this psychologically suspenseful tale.
Mechanics
The cover is a simple graphic that conveys the contents exceptionally well.
I give this author four and a half stars.