Sweet REVENGE?
TAYLOR BISHOP’S LIFE SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL WHEN SHE TRIES TO TURN THE TABLES ON HER EX
Iseem to have read a lot of novels about revenge recently. Some have been amusing but this one is more chilling and shows how one rash act can lead to another, until life spirals out of control.
Taylor Bishop has been in a toxic, abusive relationship, although she has been very slow to recognise the fact. Angus Hollingsworth is controlling, manipulative and violent. But he is also irresistible and a successful banker, who has showered Taylor with red roses and wooed her in Paris. She is convinced he is the love of her life and, even when things start to turn dark, tries to blame other things for his bad behaviour.
As the story begins, Taylor is broken-hearted. She and Angus have split after an argument on the eve of a skiing holiday. In revenge, he has posted a sex tape he made of her online and made sure she sees it.
Armed with a copy of a book called The Art of War, Taylor decides to strike back. She does so in a variety of ways. Some are fairly innocuous – like stealing his lucky socks and causing a leak in his flat while he is away skiing (with the ex-girlfriend he has taken instead of Taylor). Others are more vindictive – booking prostitutes on his work credit card and pretending he s stalking a neighbour.
Taylor has two big problems. She is still in love with Angus and has seriously underestimated how cunning he can be. Very soon she finds herself being outmanoeuvred by him and the tension builds nicely as Taylor is trapped in a vicious game of cat and mouse with a man who says he loves her.
This is an unpredictable story about unpleasant people – rather like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train in that respect. It has strong page-turning powers and a nail-biter of a second half. While I can’t say I was 100% convinced by all the actions of its characters, I was definitely hooked by the sharp, pacy writing and twisty plot of this intriguing psychological thriller.