Beware of Dogs by Elizabeth Flann

Publisher's Synopsis

Not much daylight left now.

So begins the field diary of Alix Verhoeven, whose impulsive acceptance of an offer to spend Easter on a remote island has turned into a terrifying ordeal. Hiding in a tiny cave, she carefully rations out her meagre supplies, while desperately trying to figure out how to escape the men hunting her. She is determined not to be a victim.

What do they want with her? She knows it's nothing good - she overheard enough on that first night to flee. But now she's got little food or water, no way of calling for help, and only her skills as an exploration geologist and memories of Atkinson's Bushcraft Guide to survive.

By day she is disciplined and lives by strict plans, but at night she finds herself haunted by questions about her life that she has never wanted to face.

And her time is running out.

My Review 

Beware of Dogs tells the story of a woman who has been taken to an island for a supposed long-weekend getaway, but suddenly realises her travel companions have far more disturbing plans for her.

She has made her escape but is still trapped on the island.

The story opens with Alix Verhoeven writing in a diary while hiding in a cave on an island. She is seriously contemplating the possibility that she will die where she hides.

It becomes apparent she is hiding from a couple of men. One of the men is Dave, a ‘blast from the past’ she recently bumped into at a rare nightclub outing. The other is Dave’s boss, Matt, who Alix describes as a complete psychopath.

The story is told largely through a field diary being kept by Alix as she hunkers down inside the close confines of an uncomfortably small cave. She clearly feels as though her life is in danger and is preparing for the worst.

Although the book is billed as a survival story, a terrifying bid to stay out of the clutches of a group of men hunting her down to kill her, it never reached those heights (depths).

What the majority of the story is, is a recounting of the ability to live off the land in a remote location.

And, sure, the information about edible native fruits and leaves was interesting…to begin with. But it soon became repetitive and, frankly, tiresome - even, dare I say it, boring.

What becomes clear is the danger that Alix detects is real and the men who have taken her to the island are planning to hurt her.

Unfortunately, although there was some promise of a highly charged resolution that could have had the pulse racing, things were wrapped up all too quickly. The feeling of imminent danger remains largely that - imminent.

What might have been a story of triumph over adversity ended up falling a little flat. Perhaps that reflects more of a real-life situation but in terms of a compelling ending, it was somewhat disappointing.