Review: The Hush

Title: The Hush

Author: Sara Foster

Publisher: 27th October 2021 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 368 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: thriller, mystery, science fiction, dystopia

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

A multigenerational, female-led thriller, and a terrifying conspiracy that goes right to the heart of the British Government.

Six months ago, in an English hospital, a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth. Since then there have been more tragedies, and now the country is in turmoil. The government is clamping down on people’s freedoms. The prime minister has passed new laws granting authorities sweeping powers to monitor all citizens. And young pregnant women have started going missing.

As a midwife, Emma is determined to be there for those who need her. But when her seventeen-year-old daughter Lainey finds herself in trouble, this dangerous new world becomes very real, and both women face impossible choices. The one person who might help is Emma’s estranged mother Geraldine, but reaching out to her will put them all in jeopardy …

The Hush is a new breed of near-future thriller, an unflinching look at a society close to tipping point and a story for our times, highlighting the power of female friendship through a dynamic group of women determined to triumph against the odds.

My Thoughts

‘Now, it’s more like I want the world to change. I feel sadness and frustration rather than fiery outrage when I consider what’s happening, watching humanity repeating the same flawed patterns over and over.’

Sara Foster does it again with The Hush!  This is a fabulous futuristic dystopian thriller, set in a time not long after the pandemic of COVID-19. She has produced such a clever plot with credible twists and turns that can easily be considered as a result of our current world predicament - something we would not have contemplated two years ago. 

‘It’s been clear for a while that the government would like to have more control on the rate of reproduction - and that’s not just here, it’s happening the world over, now there’s so much more stress on supplies and resources, and the planet is in such a precarious and unpredictable state.’

Sara has cleverly included realistic threads that make her story quite believable. There is a cast of solid characters and as they range from adolescent to grandparents, this book is sure to appeal to a wide ranging audience. As outlined in the synopsis, this is a multigenerational, female-led story with women who are strong, resilient and courageous. It is wonderful to have such strong female leads all prepared to take on a society that has lost its way. 

There are a range of themes from adolescent and family issues, right up to senior government conspiracies and crucial environmental world issues. What Sara presents in this post-pandemic world, is a society with a government that has slowly mandated new laws in ‘community safety and well-being’ but is very much ‘big brother’ watching and monitoring you. Sara offers both a thoughtful and thought provoking scenario. 

‘Listen, you might have been able to march like that a year ago, but it's not a good idea anymore. There are too many crises hitting us all at once. The government is determined to crack down on demonstrations. It’s a different world now than it was five or ten years ago.’

The Hush is certain to be the book people will be talking about in the last few months of this year and for quite some time. Women working together in a fast paced dystopian thriller that, scarily, would appear to be not that too far removed from our current reality. Highly recommend this book to readers who are partial to quality writing on creditable themes. 

‘The system that supports you can also be used to control you, Emma. Don’t ever forget that, will you.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.