Come on. 'Fess up. Does anyone really watch reality TV, particularly featuring celebrities, for any other reason than to have a good laugh when it all goes wrong? Maybe we eventually get into the programme and end up rooting for one or the other of the victims participants, but the errors and catastrophic moments are where the real entertainment comes from. Well, when it comes to Isolation Island, a brand new format reality survival show in which a group of 'celebrities' are left on the remote scottish island of Eilean Manach, once home to an active monastery, the catastrophic moments are off the scale, and with a storm brewing, both psychological and literal, things can only get worse. Which they do. My only advice to anyone of a mind to enter such a show - if Louise Minchin is behind the production team anyway, say no. She's vicious!

Isolation Island follows investigative journalist Lauren Brooks who, against her better judgment, has agreed to be one of the celebrity 'victims'. There is method in her apparent madness, for despite an initial reluctance to engage, never mind that it might just save her flailing career, it is the rumour of who one of her fellow contestants might be that seals the deal. The prize, should she win, is tailored to her dreams, as it is for each of the contestants, but for Lauren, the real prize is something money cannot buy. From the very outset of the book it is clear that this will not be your typical reality show. Even getting to the island is fraught with peril, and the tone of the book and the ensuing challenges is set from the moment part of the set almost ends one challenger's journey before they've even set foot in the monastery.

Now, I'm not a big follower of reality shows but, even by any standard, the format of Isolation Island seems a trifle harsh. Made to dress in less than fashionable habits, and left in conditions that may be the 'authentic monk experience' but are far from the luxury they are used to, they are set a series of challenges. The failure to achieve their challenges results in them paying a penance, including forced fasting (not popular), and rest is something they are forced to learn to live without. It allows the author to ramp up the tension, using the natural conflict that such deprivations can create, to amplify the clear divisions that soon start to form in the camp. It certainly kept me glued to the page - kind of car crash TV but in a book.

Louise Minchin has created a really varied bunch of characters for her survival show, from all walks of life - professional sport, investigative journalism, business, influencers, even a Hollywood superstar - and imbues them with a real sense of authenticity. I can't help but think they may be an amalgam of many people she has met over her career - I'd hate to think that some of them were based on any specific person, although it's not impossible, certainly in the case of one particular characters, whose personality if very much informed by current affairs. It creates taht believability factor. as for her opening chapter - well I was immediately gripped as you already know that a terrible fate is to befall one of them - it is just the who and why that needs to be answered. You might make a judgement on that early on, but be careful of jumping to conclusions. Louise Minchin is one crafty author and with deft use of misdirection works to quickly throw you off the scent, or at least introduces some uncertainty to proceedings. 

I loved the pacing of this book and the constant sense of jeopardy that infuses every chapter. It is not the longest book, but no page is wasted and I absolutely tour through it, finishing in a single evening. It's the kind of book that has that one more chapter vibe, keeping me hooked to the final somewhat surprising conclusion. Not everyone makes it off the island ... at least, not every leaves on their own two feet anyway. I loved and loathed the characters, wanting to slap my kindle on more than the odd occasion, and loved the madness of the show format. Introducing a severe storm to increase that sense of isolation for the contestants, placing them where even the production crew cannot help and removing any access to crucial evidence (hard to commit the perfect crime when your every move is being recorded after all) just builds the already lofty tension and dashes any hopes Lauren may have had of easily getting her big scoop. Where would be the fun in that?

Pacy, thrilling, with delightfully loathable characters and a packed tight with tension, I really enjoyed this and can't wait to read more from the author. Heartily recommended but fans of action and adventure style thrillers.