THE CRUELLEST GAME

Marion Anderson thinks she has the perfect life, with a successful husband, a beautiful house, and an intelligent and caring teenage son. Then she comes home one day to find her son hanging from the rafters in his bedroom.

Unconvinced that her son had reason to kill himself and shocked to the core, Marion soon learns that this is just the first blow that is to rock her world – the man she married is not who she thinks he is. As her life disintegrates around her, Marion sets out to find the truth about her husband, and who is behind the death of her son.

This is a very tense tale that had me engrossed right from the end of the first chapter. It is told from Marion’s point of view, and though I empathised with this character who appears to be discovering that her whole life is a lie, there’s a lot she’s not telling us as well. It’s the sort of novel where you think you can see what’s coming, and just when you’re looking in the direction you think the surprise is going to come from, something completely unexpected jumps out at you from the other direction and knocks you off your feet.

The Cruellest Game is a skilfully written tale full of twists and turns. If you like novels that you keep you guessing right to the end, this one’s a must-read.