Book Review: Sleeping With A Psychopath by Carolyn Woods

Blurb

A Divorced Woman. A Dangerous Man. A Devastating Affair.

‘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.’

Carolyn Woods was living happily in a quiet Cotswolds village when an attractive stranger abruptly arrived in her life.

Introducing himself as Mark Conway, he exuded confidence and to her surprise Carolyn quickly became captivated by this mysterious man. A rich Swiss banker (who later confessed to being a spy), he offered Carolyn companionship and introduced her to an exciting, glamorous world.

In fact, some things were so astonishing she began to question her new lover. Was all as it seemed?

The truth was even harder to believe. For a start, his real name was Mark Acklom, he was wanted by Interpol, and he was rich but for one reason only…

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.

Buy Link: Amazon

Review

When I first started reading this, I thought the meeting between Carolyn and Mark was odd, the way he talked and how she described the scene would have pinged up a lot of red flags for me immediately. However, we have all been fooled by someone in one way or another and people do tend to give others the benefit of the doubt.

Less than 18 months was the length of the relationship but in that time, Carolyn was duped, that is for sure, Mark had the charm and charisma to get away with it and he was a master manipulator and had set everything up so well that I am sure anyone could have let their guard down eventually with him. He managed to get inside her mind and a lot of it was uneasy to read. Yes, I did think Carolyn, you are naïve, get out of there! But I can also understand that when it is actually happening to you and you are caught up in the bubble so far and every time you question things you are given an answer that could be believable due to his “job” and have no one to voice your worries because he has managed to isolate you and you are under his spell completely.

I am so glad eventually Carolyn saw sense and started to rebuild her life while fighting tooth and nail to get Mark arrested and exposed for what he had done.
I’m not so happy about missing information that the police “lost” it sounded very strange and frustrating.

Overall, it was a good but uncomfortable read, this really happened and it shows that abuse in a relationship is not always physical.

I am glad Carolyn found the courage to write this book and share what happened to her, and I hope it gives help to other people in similar situations.