Easily one of the most disturbing books that this writer has ever read, Elle Nash seems keen to shock her reader but in doing so loses the purpose of the story.
This story of desire, motherhood, manipulation, murder and profound insecurity is easily one of the most disturbingly vivid reads that I can recall reading and honestly should come with trigger warnings.
Deliver Me, follows the story of Dee-Dee (also known as Daisy) whose greatest desire (and fear in many ways) is to become a mother, wife and break away from her own mother whose love of the Pentecostal church which she broke away from continues to follow her. On top of this, she is trapped into a unhealthy relationship with David (who Dee-Dee inexplicably calls ‘Daddy’) and uncertain friendship with Sloane in which she both loves and is jealous of in equal measure.
Playing out like an intense psychological thriller, Elle Nash has created a character who plays with the lines that want you to sympathise with her and the way she is treated by others to repulsion in terms of her brutal actions and lies in her desperation to become a mother.
The trouble with Deliver Me is that in by throwing so much shock and misery at the reader it does lessen the impact of the plot and focus on its central themes which include mother and daughter relationships and the way in which religion can be used to manipulate the vulnerable – which Dee Dee certainly is. The structure cuts backwards and forwards in a way that feels unnerving.
For me, what I was left questioning was whether Dee Dee was made into the disturbed and obsessive person she was thanks to her treatment by others or whether she had been born this way? There is certainly no easy answer to this at the horrifying conclusion.
Elle Nash has written with clarity and intensity that will thrill those who enjoy psychological horrors of this kind and you are kept throughly guessing as to what direction the story will take next. Will Dee Dee be caught out in her deception? Will anyone help her give her the help that she clearly and desperately needs?
The problem is that no matter how well written this story is, you are left with more questions than answers – particularly when the reader is so firmly stuck in Dee Dee’s head, we are lacking insight into the lives of those who are surrounding her to give us more of a fully rounded view of her relationship with others.
There is no doubting that Elle Nash is a talented author and has a way of getting inside her protagonist’s mind to create an effective atmosphere that compels the reader to keep going – but the brutality of the story is difficult to want to keep engaging with. However, it is bold and almost gothic in the way in which the story unfold, particularly when the severity of Dee Dee’s actions become increasingly clear and her desire to become a mother becomes out of control.
Overall it is a deeply disturbing and unnerving read that keeps the reader guessing until the very end. Some might find it compelling but I found it deeply uncomfortable to read.
By Emma Clarendon
Deliver Me is available to buy now.