Sleeping with a Psychopath: A real-life psychological crime thriller, the unbelievable true story. THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER

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I hope Carolyn Woods will make some money from this book. Being left with nothing - no money, no home, not a lot of self-respect - after going through such a trauma is horrible to even imagine. Most of all though, I hope she'll use the book to draw a line under the experience she had and move forward. This book purports to be a real-life crime thriller; but given that the story has been all over the media, there is nothing new or revelatory here. Carolyn Woods was living happily in a quiet Cotswolds village when an attractive stranger abruptly arrived in her life. I have so much respect for the strength Carolyn has shown in writing and publishing this account. At times I found myself loosing focus whilst I was reading and I found parts a little repetitive. There will be many people who question how she believed such outlandish lies, but her honesty and strength stand out to me. I felt both gripped and haunted by this read, I almost feel like I cannot trust anyone. There are many chilling but important messages within this book.

The nighttime habits of antisocial personalities vary, Dr. Gene Beresin, Executive Director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, tells Bustle. There's really no one consistent activity or set of activities that all psychopaths do. However, whatever they choose to do, it's going to be self-centered and in the moment. "No matter what else is happening around the individual (even if it is monumental), if it is not immediately relevant to what the psychopath is interested in at that time, it is disregarded," Beresin says. I feel so sorry for any woman who finds herself in this situation, thinking she's found 'The one', yet he's just interested in milking her for everything she has, not caring what financial & mental destruction he is causing. I'd 100% recommend listening to Sleeping with a Psychopath as I bet that throughout the book most readers will be asking themselves whether they could fall victim to a similar crime. If you are sleeping with a psychopath (okay, let’s get real, you’re not just sleeping) there is a good chance that you’ve been (1) groomed and (2) courted by the psycho, and depending on where you are at in this psychopathic relationship, either you are (3) head over heels in love, or you were and now you’re (4) wondering what the hell is going on. Or, if the relationship has run its course, it is clear that (5) you’ve been played, you have suffered the effects of this entanglement, and to your psychopath’s amusement, you are in a great deal of pain, and are devasted from the experience. There were also some quite frustrating aspects of the book too. She makes a really big deal about how she doesn't want to be painted as the 'divorced woman' as this comes with some negative connotations - yet it's the beginning of the strap-line in the front of the book - which I presume she signed off on. She also expresses her frustration with the GPs she saw who insisted she needed antidepressants and therapy because she didn't want either. I really don't understand what else she wanted from them, what else could they offer?

Reviews:

I admit it… I am obsessed by psychopaths. I love reading books with narcissistic, psychopathic characters and the more ruthless the better, however this is in the fictional books I read. Reading about psychopaths in a true crime, non-fiction account is absolutely TERRIFYING. The 'story' seemed to finish halfway through however, and I wondered how there was still half a book to go. As it turned out, the second half of the book was telling the story of what happened after, with the police investigations and the court case etc. Not only was this very drawn out, it ended up giving me a completely different opinion of Carolyn. She came across as very 'elitist' and regularly implied that she better than things such as the benefits system and anti-depressants. I also found it hypocritical how she mentions MANY times in the book that she resent being called 'a divorcee', however, in the advertising for this book she calls herself

You’re right. It is totally extraordinary. My life is like a film; you couldn’t make it up ... But there’s something I have to tell you,’ he confided, as he leaned across the table towards me. ‘I’m not normal.’ OMFG so so many alarm bells would have been going off in my head & the behaviour he exhibited in those first 24 hours would have had me running for the hills! Or is it just easy for me to say that having never been in this kinda situation before? I didn't realise this was a true story to start with, so I did a little research & read the news reports...what an absolute uncaring bastard (that's me being polite) he was! A true-crime story that reads like a thriller, Sleeping with a Psychopath is a blow-by-blow account of the power of manipulation and a testament to the human will to survive. Product Details You’re right. It is totally extraordinary. My life is like a film; you couldn’t make it up … But there’s something I have to tell you,’ he confided, as he leaned across the table towards me. ‘I’m not normal.’ One of the main reasons Mark got away with the extent of the fraud he did was due to his charismatic character. From the very first meeting it was clear that he was a bit of a creep and she'd have been best off staying well away from him. I felt those parts were written with the benefit of hindsight and she really failed in her quest to make the reader truly understand what it was that had drawn her to him in the first place - and what made her stay.The first half of the book, I really liked. Carolyn told her story well and, as heartbreaking as it was, I very much enjoyed reading it. She finished each chapter with a 'summing up' of Mark's behaviour based on what she knows now, which I found interesting. So many red flags. He told her he’d just been shot in the arm, then in the leg. Did she not notice he had no wounds when they were being intimate? The rudeness he showed towards her family would have made most women run for the hills, but she stayed. I think because she, right from the day she met him, loved the luxury champagne and limo lifestyle.