By Beth Flynn
Synopsis
RECOMMENDED FOR READERS 18 AND OLDER DUE TO STRONG LANGUAGE, SEXUAL SITUATIONS, AND VIOLENCE. This is Book 1 of 3 in The Nine Minutes Trilogy On May 15, 1975, fifteen-year-old Ginny Lemon is abducted from a convenience store in Fort Lauderdale by a member of one of the most notorious and brutal motorcycle gangs in South Florida. From that moment on, her life is forever changed. She gets a new name, a new identity and a new life in the midst of the gang’s base on the edge of the Florida Everglades—a frightening, rough and violent world much like the swamps themselves, where everyone has an alias and loyalty is tantamount to survival. And at the center of it all is the gang’s leader, Grizz: massive, ruggedly handsome, terrifying and somehow, when it comes to Ginny, tender. She becomes his obsession and the one true love of his life. So begins a tale of emotional obsession and manipulation, of a young woman ripped from everything she knows and forced to lean on the one person who provides attention, affection and care: her captor. Precocious and intelligent, but still very much a teenager, Ginny struggles to adapt to her existence, initially fighting and then coming to terms with her captivity. Will she be rescued? Will she escape? Will she get out alive—or get out at all? Part psychological thriller, part coming-of-age novel, filled with mystery, romance and unexpected turns, Nine Minutes takes readers into the world of one motorcycle gang and inside the heart of a young girl, whose abduction brought about its fall.
My Review
How does one recover from this book, from the first few minutes of reading this story it grips you with the emotions of Kit and then you are taken back to where it started – more or less.
Nine minutes is all it takes for her life to change but when in her life were those nine minutes – when she was 15 or older or younger? – well you will find out and decide for yourself.
The last few chapters – Beth Flynn literally goes Checkmate dear reader for hanging in there till the end!
As I finished I wanted to pick this up and read again from the start, I was awake this morning at 4am thinking about these characters. Honestly I have not been mentally affected by a book to this extent since I read Comfort Food by Kitty Thomas – I feel as if I need therapy and need to talk to someone about why I read these dark and twisted love tales – is there something wrong with me. I loved this story, it was rough, gritty and in your face that life is not always honest, sweet and good.
I found the way this story was told at the beginning really important in the context that this girl was although very smart she was also so young and innocent at only 15 and I could feel it in the writing how she matured through this journey while telling her story. The twists, turns and supporting characters were simply amazing and helped mould the story to the climatic and emotional ending.
Fair warning there are some intense scenes of violence and I shook to my core as they were both against men and women.
I had tried to also guess who her husband was that she was sitting next to at the start of this book, I had it down to two possible characters one being before her abduction and one after. The last few chapters just opened up the depth of the main and supporting characters and what role they played in the deception.
Bring on the next book, I hope we learn more about Mimi and Jason and I just want more of the history and game playing.
Nine Minutes (Nine Minutes #1)
My Rating: 
