Uncle Alex, a lonely and unloved translator, enjoys leading his passive, pretty niece, Gemma, astray. At first these possessive indulgences are quite innocent, but when she marries a rather cold, albeit successful doctor – a man Alex actively despises – his mission becomes all-consuming. In working on the story of Troilus and Criseyde, fantasy and reality begin to merge to the point where Alex encourages an affair between Gemma and an attractive out-of-work actor, David. But the increasingly complex web of deceit Alex manipulates for his own entertainment gradually begins to spiral out of control, with devastating results for Gemma.

A unique, somewhat disturbing novel, filled with egotistical liars and actors, voyeurism and sneaky manipulation. Cleverly plotted and impossible to put down. None of these characters are able but they are fully fleshed-out, exceptionally large warts and all. Francis JarmanAuthor 33 books22

Fasten your seatbelts for a bumpy ride! This is a nasty, seriously disturbing book, a tale of deceit and manipulation, with a narrator, Alexander Kyle, who is spitefully funny, selfish and dangerous. Iago, or Salieri in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, his wickedness (if we define wickedness for the moment as being when someone causes harm for no good reason) is somehow rooted in personal inadequacy and disappointment. For that reason I'm not happy about the title of the book, or about the little twitch of morality at the end, with the narrator admitting to having "an evil streak" and bringing God and Hell into the equation. "Evil" isn't a necessary category here; what motivates Kyle is obsession, and thwarted love, and (if you want to simplify it) malice. These emotions are quite sufficient to cause immeasurable harm, in this novel as in the real world around us, without the heavy artillery of Good and Evil needing to be brought into play. Mandy3,343 302

Andrea Newman seems to have faded from view of late, and based on this remarkably compelling and sinister book that’s a real shame. It’s good to see it being re-issued. It's an updated re-imagining of Troilus and Criseyde, set in London and narrated by Alex Kyle, one of the most unpleasant fictional characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of coming across. We see the whole sorry scenario develop through his eyes, as his obsession with his niece Gemma becomes a fixation that looks set to destroy the whole family. I found this a deeply unsettling book, cleverly plotted and expertly paced, and Alex’s development from indulgent uncle to manipulative and dangerous playmaster is both convincing and disturbing. An absorbing read. Trina828 9

I received this arc from Netgalley.

This was nothing I expected it to be. Actually it was kind of weird. There are some bits of humor that I d. After reading this, I come away with the question of why. arc kindle netgalley Northern Light309

This book promises much but doesn't really deliver much plot at all. The emotions seem very false and it's very hard to believe that people behave this.

Alex Kyle has two loves his niece Gemma and his work. When he gets a new cleaner David the lives of them all change in ways that are frankly ridiculous. We move from one ludicrous situation to another without any real connection between. I kept reading in the hope things would improve but they didn't and the ending just compounded my feelings.romance Monique219 43

Compulsive reading.crime-fiction Lara617 6

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