Reviewed by me for Reader’s Favorite.
In The 8th Sky: A Psychological Thriller With An Unforgettable Twist by Leigh Lyn, the plot begins with Lin Lee stuck in an asylum and not remembering half the details of the incidents that led her to this place. She is an architect who is one of the best in her company. After she started having flashbacks, she remembered that she had been leading a project that involved designing a Science Park for Gao Yao Inc. and that she had observed some very peculiar requests from the client in the design. These suggestions raised suspicion in Lin’s mind and she blew the whistle to her bosses; however, next thing she knew, she was in the asylum. She does not believe him when her psychiatrist, Dr. Wen, tells her that sleep deprivation made her have a psychotic episode which led her to Castle Peak Psychiatric Hospital. For the sake of getting released, she pretends to be an ideal patient, but in her head, she is planning to uncover the conspiracy as soon as she is out of this hell.
The fascinating part of The 8th Sky is the fine storytelling by the author. Leigh Lyn knows how to pique the interest of her readers and keep them on the edge of their seats until the end. Her smart writing kept me in a loop; I could not decide whether Lin was hallucinating the whole time or telling the truth. There were times when I was almost sure that Lin was living in a fantasy world and confusing her imagination with reality. She mentioned that she sighted ghosts several times and that confirmed my suspicion of her losing her mind. However, the author cleverly revealed something that made me change my opinion. There are many more elements that make it a captivating read. If, like me, you appreciate the knowledge of different cultures, then you would enjoy the details of Chinese culture that are incorporated in The 8th Sky. Other than the culture, the author’s knowledge of psychology, architecture, and history both excited and astonished me. I am sure a lot of research has gone into explaining how human psychology works.
The 8th Sky stands true to its title in more ways than just one. The psychological aspect runs so deep that I do not have enough words in my vocabulary to express the depth of it. The author has done a stupendous job of executing an intriguing thriller that, once it hooked me, did not let me relax until reaching the end. The twist, although a little hard to grasp in one go, is indeed unforgettable. Regardless of the truth, which may be far from my speculations, The 8th Sky is a perfect combination of horror, suspense, culture, and psychology. It is a fabulous treat for a reader’s imagination and logic. I would have liked the climax to be more explicitly revealed; nonetheless, the overall reading experience was very satisfying. The book seemed quite slow in the beginning, but once the author threw a few puzzles my way, I knew I was hooked.
