Suspicious Minds by David Mark

This is a story about mental illness, coercive control and trust. A woman battles her mind and her dominating husband until she finds a lovely fantasy man who seems to good to be true.

The book looks at depression and particularly Borderline Personality Disorder and the effects on those around them in great detail. At times the minutiae of email conversations is tedious, even if it is accurate. Often slow in moving forward, the tale contains beautiful, hallucinogenic  descriptions of nature that serve to contrast with the scenes of horror, creating a tense confusion towards the end.

​The book opens with a distressing sequence where a woman and child are in a woodland and are injured. They are being forced to go somewhere against their will. The next chapter begins the disturbing mental slog up to this point, demonstrating that mental illness is not confined to those with a diagnosis.

A well written and spellbinding tale for those who like vivid  psychological suspense.

Published by Severn House on 1 December 2020.
​Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.