Sleeping with a Psychopath

I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, sometimes the true life stories aren’t particularly gripping, but this one was in all the right ways. 

We follow Carolyn through meeting and her subsequent relationship with Mark. With the benefit of hindsight, Carolyn is able to point out where she should have seen red flags and where she should have questioned things more. The story that she told and then excuses that Mark came up with throughout their relationship were so outlandish that you would think that she would have seen through them, but I think that Carolyn thought they were so crazy that you couldn’t possibly make them up and think you could get away with them. 

We then follow Carolyn through the process of deciding to end the relationship, realising who Mark really is and the process of going to the police, the long process trying to get him arrested and the subsequent court case. It was interesting for this to be included in the book, as quite often the book ends after the relationship has ended with a quick chapter on what has happened since and how they got their life back on track. But this was different, as it showed the process she went through and the way that she was failed quite a lot by the police at the start of the investigation, but by being persistent and not dropping the case (even though it was obvious the officer wanted her to) she eventually got what she wanted. Although it wasn’t solely the police investigations that got her to that point, and Carolyn writes that if anything like this ever happens to you, you should make sure you become friends with a good investigative journalist as they will help you with leads that the police may not even have. 

I did enjoy this book, and was happy that Carolyn is now rebuilding her life and seems happy. It is amazing to see how resilient she has been, and although she may have lost herself for a good few years, she shows how victims can get their lives back and become a new version of their former selves. The photos included at the end of the kindle edition were interesting to see, and you finally get to put faces to the names (especially Mark’s) and it makes it all the more real.