BLOGTOUR, BOOK REVIEW - Watch For Me by Martin Bodenham

 

                                                                     BOOK SYNOPSIS

Tom Harper, a Vancouver Island realtor, has the client from hell, Ali Page, a beautiful and intelligent young lawyer returning from the mainland to take up a job with an island law firm. Trouble is there’s always something wrong with the properties Tom shows her, always a reason not to commit. Finally, after they find a condo she likes, he receives a text thanking him for his help. Ali signs off: I’m sad we won’t get to spend more time together. Often cold and withdrawn throughout their weeks of searching, Ali’s words seem strangely out of character.

The texts keep coming, increasingly incoherent and disturbing. What does Ali mean by: we have a special connection, and why on earth would she say: I’ll be here for you when you leave your wife? Happily married, Tom cannot understand why a woman not much older than his teenage daughter is suddenly obsessed with him. When he rejects Ali’s unsolicited advances, Tom soon discovers the sinister depths to which a delusional mind will sink to obtain what it wants. Isolated and seemingly abandoned by the police and legal system, this is the story of one man’s struggle to rescue his marriage, his family, and his sanity in the face of overwhelming psychological and physical torment.

The plot of this shocking story which is actually based on true events centres around Tom who is a Vancouver island realtor, married to Marie and they have a daughter called Freya who is at college. His problems start after he helps Ali who is the daughter of a couple of his and Marie's friends find a condo because she had recently moved back onto the island. Ali starts bombarding him with confusing texts which insinuate that they have been having a affair and surely he can feel the connection that they share. Tom tells Ali that she is delusional and asks her to leave him alone but that is just like waving a red flag in front of a bull and is the catalyst for Ali's behaviour to turn more shocking and twisted. Tom was unsure if he should tell Marie about the texts due to his history of infidelity in the past, he was also initially reluctant to report the situation to the police due to Ali's father's occupation. But, the situation eventually gets so bad that Tom is left feeling that he has no choice but to inform the authorities. But the officer that he speaks to comes across as dismissive of his fears due to the fact that Tom is a man and gives him the impression that the officer believes that things were not as one sided as Tom was making them appear. There are unfortunately many people that unfortunately believe that there is no smoke without fire. Despite the fact that we live in enlightened times, men are often reluctant to say anything about the abuse that they are being subjected to due to feelings of shame and embarrassment. Being made to feel like they should man up or as Tom was basically told by his friend, the woman is very good looking so what are you complaining about. The police initially dismiss Tom's fears as a domestic dispute but after Ali's campaign takes a sickening turn, it's Tom who finds himself under arrest. Tom's perfect life is rapidly falling apart around him, friends turn against him and the situation isn't helped by the lurid headlines that are published by the press. 

This is not a thriller in the normal sense of the word and there is absolutely no doubt that Tom was the innocent victim of a mentally unstable woman. Ali was a lawyer, she was seriously deluded, cunning, manipulative and not just missing a sandwich but the whole loaf and the hamper. She was one hell of a deluded individual who was prepared to go to chilling lengths to get what she wanted which was Tom. But she also obviously suffered from some serious mental health issues so didn't that mean that she deserved a tiny bit of sympathy? Would Tom ever be able to get his life back or was he destined to be one of the unfortunate victims who would spend the rest of his life living in fear and constantly looking over his shoulder?

This is a very well written, chilling, addictive read with a plot that is highly relevant, topical, thought provoking and made all the more terrifying by the fact that it is based on true events. It's shocking to think that there are actually people like Ali in the world who are prepared to ruin a innocent person's life due to the scenarios that they have invented in their heads. I thought this gripping,enthralling story and I would happily read more of this author's books in the future.

                                                                      AUTHOR BIO

Martin Bodenham is the author of the crime thrillers: Crime And Justice, The Geneva Connection, Once a Killer and Shakedown. Watch For Me is his latest novel, published 16 August 2021 by Down & Out Books, a US-based publisher of crime fiction, founded in 2011.

After a thirty-year career in private equity and corporate finance in London, Martin moved to the west coast of Canada, where he writes full-time. He held corporate finance partner positions at both KPMG and Ernst & Young as well as senior roles at several private equity firms before founding his own private equity company in 2001. Much of the tension in his thrillers is based on the greed and fear he witnessed first-hand while working in international finance.

Martin’s website: https://www.martinbodenham.com/

Martin’s Twitter page: https://twitter.com/martinbodenham

Martin’s LinkedIn page: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/martin-bodenham-8228307

Martin’s publisher’s page: https://downandoutbooks.com/

PUBLICATION DATE: 16th August 2021

PURCHASE LINK....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watch-Me-Martin-Bodenham-ebook/dp/B098V4K88R/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=watch+for+me+by+martin+bodenham&qid=1629071769&s=books&sr=1-1

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT THE POSTS OF THE OTHER BLOGGERS WHO HAVE STOPS ON THIS BLOG TOUR