T. J. Carroll
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Dashi, an 18 year old woman is in prison for murdering two members of the gang who murdered her friends. Her days are numbered and she’s expecting to be executed any day now. But then, a strange nobleman breaks her out of prison to be his contender in the Khan’s race for a mysterious artefact; a golden statuette and the reward is riches beyond belief. The race will be dangerous – taking the contestants through the deadly taiga, a vast forest that houses giant rats, ants and other strange creatures – to an abandoned temple of a bygone era. To ensure her cooperation, the noble attaches an irremovable, explosive belt to Dashi’s waist which holds a count down until it blows up. With no other options, Dashi takes part, only hoping to retrieve the statuette, the reward and to build a new life for herself and her little sister, Idree.
From the very start, The Golden Needle is an explosive read. We have a young, capable and morally grey female lead in Dashi. She is fuelled by anger at herself for being caught, grief over her friends’ deaths and a bitter desire to survive. She’s a compelling and complex character. In her younger sister, Idree, we have a contrasting character. She has more of a conscience and a quiet capability which Dashi is determined to ignore – perhaps because her own guilt over not being able to care for her as she should have. Idree is likeable while not being too saccharine to be palatable.
But it’s not just the charismatic characters which make The Golden Needle such a good read. The story is winding, taking you to places you’d never expect. Carroll has built the world so cunningly. The taiga could be any forest – full of tall trees whose shadows could be hiding anything from terror to friend. The race itself is thrilling, and the temple at the end could be lifted directly from Indiana Jones with its booby-traps and danger at every corner. There’s high tension, epic fight scenes, found family and desperation. Then a mystery flowing the whole way through which will be sure to floor the reader when it’s revealed.
S. A.
Review first published on Reedsy Discovery. You can read the original here.
The Golden Needle is available on Amazon and is free to read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.