The De Clerambault Code
Available on Amazon in paperback, ebook, audiobook and Apple Books
BOOK REVIEW BY JUNE ARCH
EWN October 2010
Laura Hill appears to have everything: a successful career, a group of close friends. Then suddenly, impulsively she embarks on a passionate relationship with a man whom she knows nothing about. Her life is overturned. But Sean Cazaly is more than he seems and his refusal to discuss his past holds more secrets than Laura can imagine. She soon begins to realise that she is trapped in a world that threatens everything: her safety, her sanity and finally her life.
The De Clerambault Code delves deep into parts of the criminal, pathological mind where most authors are far too frightened to venture. Compelling from start to finish, it is about a relationship so intense and fraught with danger and at the same time so seductive and all-encompassing that it eclipses every normal, workaday aspect of life. It fully engages the reader of both sexes in the loneliness, isolation and paranoia of what it is to be involved in such an obsessive relationship.
The De Clerambault Code is an intricate psychological suspense thriller with a plot that twists and turns like an octopus. Its themes deal not only with the nature of obsessive delusional behaviour, violence and death but also the problem of human trafficking and adolescent thugs.
The tension builds up with inexorable detail to an astonishing climax in this compulsively readable, intelligent thriller where suspense is ratcheted up cruelly right until the final pages.
"Just to add when I finished reading this I immediately recommended it to friends. Especially liked the ending which had me gripped!" Lisa Edwards, Manchester, 2010
"Such a suspenseful, creepy thriller that kept me hooked from page one. The characters are nicely fleshed out too and the London setting made it easy to imagine the various places (having lived in London for several years). Already looking forward to getting the next one on my Kindle." Val Davies, Leeds, 2011
"Really good read for lovers of crime novels, the psychological angle adding something special. Lots of twists and turns to the plot and likeable real characters. Always think those who prefer a less complicated, single plotline should stick with something like Midsomer Murders!" Maggie Bishop, Dublin, 2012
Good summer read
“I was also drawn by other reader reviews and wasn’t disappointed.This isn’t a police procedural but a psychological suspense novel. This accounts for the numerous plot strands which do interlink - all loose ends convincingly drawn together at the end – in a well written novel with realistically depicted, believable characters.
Those who prefer a less complex, less interesting, single plotline read might be best advised to stay with something like Wexford! Well worth space in your suitcase or even better on your Kindle!” Mark Hughes, Cardiff, 3 Aug 2011
Good plot and a rattling good read
“This has it all: mystery, cruelty and suspense. An intriguing page turner thriller that pulls you along effortlessly round the twists and turns of the story to a satisfying end. The best of the psychological suspense genre.”
Paul Reid, Edinburgh, 20 Sept 2011
I read it all in one go
“I read ‘Soul Stealer’ and thoroughly enjoyed it. So when I came across this novel I had to have it. Both thrillers focus on ordinary, believable people who you sympathise with - and then take them right to the edge of what they’re capable of. ‘The De Clerambault Code’ keeps you guessing all the way through, yet you literally can’t put it down. When you do, you wonder, what would I have done if this had happened to me? Highly recommended!” Chris Reynolds, Southampton, 30 Nov 2011
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For more on The De Clerambault Code and photographs of the places depicted in it, click here for background, inspiration and actual locations allowing you to 'live' the drama as experienced by Laura and 'seen' through her eyes ...
Nora Johnson
WHAT READERS SAY