This was disturbing, thrilling and thought provoking. It wasn’t always easy to read but I’m glad I persevered to the end.

Mike and Verity.
Verity and Mike.

All the way through this story I was hooked. 
I listened to this on audio and just couldn’t stop listening.

Mike loves Verity. They’ve known each other for years.
Mike comes from a not so good background.
He’s got one objective in his life......making Verity happy.

But alas. He strays, leaving a relationship in tatters.

But it’s ok. It’s the games they play.

Playing games with each other seems to be a regular in their relationship especially where sex is involved. Verity likes to play out her fantasies in one way or the other.

Just who is at fault here you just won’t find out......not yet.

Whose playing who?

This is sinister, chilling, obsession, greed and much more.

It’s a very dark book that kept my 100% interest.

I’m so very glad I got to this.

This is one mind blowing, heart stopping, adrenaline pumping read that leaves you gasping for more. I loved the twistiness of it and the way it is written adds to the sheer perfection of it.

This dark and spellbinding book follows Mike Hayes. He has fought hard to get where he is today after surviving a brutal childhood. He was living a quiet yet lonely life until he met Verity. This book is dark and oh so good - it is about love and obsession that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 

Told from Mike's POV as he becomes more obsessed with Verity and the outcomes that he faces. You don't know what is true and what is false. The book is split into two parts, the first being slow and building up for second half which races off at break neck speed. The characters were so well written as well as the storyline I just couldn't put it down. 

If you want to read a book that will have your heart pumping then this is for you.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley. 

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. 
Natalie.

When I first saw this psychological thriller on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it. A dark and deadly love triangle fuelled by obsession and murder? I was so excited when I was accepted for it.

Mike and Verity love to Crave. Verity flirts with an unsuspecting stranger while Mike watches from a distance. When she’s ready, Verity will touch the delicate silver eagle hanging from her neck and Mike will swoop in and save her from the situation before reclaiming her as his own through reckless passionate sex. Now Verity says she is marrying popular, successful Angus but Mike knows this is all part of the Crave. He knows that she is playing an elongated, intricate Crave to punish him and she will need to be saved at some point. Because only he and Verity truly understand the Crave and it’s simply impossible that she and Mike won’t end up together, isn’t it?

I think the line ‘I read a story once about a Russian man who ate his lovers and I sort of understand why he did it’ sums up Mike pretty well. He is an exceptionally unique and fascinating character to read through. I absolutely adore that the entirety of the book is from his viewpoint because his head is a complete mess of a place but there is so much there. He is violently and completely consumed by his obsession with Verity to the point where literally nothing and no one else matters. I’d never read from this headspace for such a prolonged period of time before but I was undeniably addicted to him.

He is delusional and dangerous, of course. However, at several points in the last 20% of the book, I began to think that perhaps he isn’t quite as delusional as his graphic unstable mind suggests. As Verity becomes more present, doubts began to creep in and I wonder whether she is perhaps playing a game with both Mike and her new husband Angus. Is Mike, in fact, right about the situation and is Verity staging a manipulative, cold-hearted operation? The way that Hall constantly had me guessing and changing my mind kept me on tenterhooks throughout.

With a character as messed up as Mike, his background story is of utmost importance when trying to gain any kind of empathy or understanding for him. Mike was largely raised by a loving supportive foster couple, Elaine and Barry, after years of abuse and neglect at the hands of his alcoholic mother and her numerous boyfriends. Reading the chapters where he talks about his few memories of his time with his mum, it’s easy to map out his journey to a damaged and illogical mind. By this point in the book, I had already spent so much time in Mike’s head that I felt like I knew him pretty well but was still struggling to relate. Delving into his tragically dark past gave so much clarity as to the reasons why and shed some light on why he is in complete denial about the end of his and Verity’s relationship -yet another rejection that he is refusing to accept.

As a narrative written entirely from the mindset of an incredibly unreliable character, Our Kind Of Cruelty is possibly the most intrinsically intense psychological thriller I’ve ever read. Although the action reaches a brutal dramatic climax and the aftermath saw a comeuppance, I wouldn’t say that all was resolved at the end. I can’t shake the feeling that Mike’s fantasies aren’t completely self-concocted. I don’t feel that Verity really handles it in the best way and some of her behaviour still doesn’t quite make sense to me. Every time she and Mike have some form of contact, he misconstrues her words and forces them to fit with his ideal. It’s so overwhelmingly frustrating but his unwavering confidence that he understands some kind of hidden meaning in her words makes me question my own understanding. Mike is so utterly convincing that I simply have to question Verity and wonder whether he has actually got something right.

The whole idea of truth is something that haunts the whole second half of the book and it continues to linger after you’ve closed it. What were the real reasons behind this tragic state of affairs? Was it simply a case of an unhinged ex-lover, consumed by jealousy and denial, hell-bent on having his girlfriend back? Or was it the most-involved, devastating, selfish sex game ever created? 

Many readers will argue that all good books require a major shift in the protagonist’s life or outlook over the course of the narrative. Our Kind Of Cruelty doesn’t have this. On the last page, Mike is still madly in love with Verity and he still fervently believes that she is Craving. He is still making plans for them to be together as he was at the beginning. He is still the same Mike and yet that’s ok. Personally, I would have found it quite jarring for a guy like him, considering his background, to have suddenly seen the light. It wouldn’t have been believable if such a twisted, dented character had veered into an abrupt denounciation of his obsession or even if he’d reached a stage of acceptance. I think it’s the first book I’ve ever read where the shift wasn’t needed because the whole thing was about the thrill of the chase. That thrill was so great that it sufficed.

I cannot recommend Our Kind Of Cruelty enough to anyone who is looking for a dangerous, head-spinning ride. If you love thorough red-hot explorations of dark, cold, vicious minds, solving mysteries with only the words of an unreliable narrator or love stories like no other, let me introduce you to Mike Hayes.

He said, she said. When you strip away the rest of the story, yes - that's what's left. But why would you strip away such an excellent book?

Gillian Flynn blurbed this book, and it's only too fitting - since Gone Girl,, we've all seen the novels suddenly fountain out - novels with their "Girl" or "Woman" titles, novels where these women wrap helpless bystanders around their little fingers and twist their lives into mockeries of their former state. Our Kind of Cruelty would like those books to know that we live in a world that is only too willing to believe women hold that kind of mystical power, the power to level your life with a single world. And what do people do to things they fear?

It's a masterful book, this. Written from the view of the other player in their games, unreliable narration is taken to new heights, and if you want to, you can ignore the author's note at the end and read this as a straightforward tale. Trust Mike - it's still entertaining after all. But instead, I read the author's note and went back, and re-read the whole thing. It's a completely different story through that  lens, and  when you are provoked into examining your own prejudice, it's not always a comfortable thing. It was genuinely disturbing how easy it was to slip into it, and that, to me, is the real genius of this book.  Others may find some of the message ham-fisted, especially the legal scenes, but to do so is to miss the real point of the exercise. It's all about the reader here, and that made this book a little piece of genius. 

Araminta Hall, you are a clever writer, and I cannot wait to see what you do next..

Our Kind Of Cruelty is a tense, taught yarn that follows one single fiber of an idea: what goes on in the mind of a stalker? Here, the author nails the personality and voice spot-on; Mike is everything you would expect a stalker to be. He’s obsessive, single-minded, relentless, creepy, annoying.

Mike had a thing with V. She moved on. He never could. He refuses to believe it’s over. And in reading Our Kind Of Cruelty, we are privy to the inner voice of someone troubled and damaged and dangerous.

The novel unfolds slowly, tension building yet it doesn’t ever release. There aren’t surprises. Just a jaw-dropping that arrives fairly early and happens several times.

This was a weirdly odd book, and dealt with some uncomfortable topics.  It was a good solid read, and recommended.

Well written and engaging but for me, it's lacking more of an actual plot. This book could have been developed into something a lot more.

Unfortunately this book didn't work for me at all. The POV was repetitive and a little clunky, and I know part of this was intentional, but it felt tedious.

This book was very thorough in its detail of the characters and plot but because of this it took me too long to get into it and I struggled to finish it, but I persevered and was glad I did  as the the ending was great. However I could just as easily not have finishes it

This book was very detailed when talking through the characters and plot and it took me a long time to get into the book due to the extended storyline. However, three quarters in and the book heated up, it took several twists, the build up was worth the perseverance and the ending was great.

Overall I did enjoy the book as the ending was brilliant but I feel that the detail in the lead up at times detracted and left me struggling to get into the book.

This is the story of Mike & Verity, or rather the twisted ‘love story’ of Mike & Verity, that I found both gripping and terrifying.  
The story starts from Mikes perspective, who is in prison but for what crime we do not know at this point.  Why he is prison we do not know, but as the story goes on we come to realise that all is not well with Mike.  He and Verity share a long history and it would be fair to say that when they were a couple it become a very creepy obsessive ‘love’ story.  Eventually he and Verity split up and Verity meets and subsequently marries.  Mike does not accept that they are over however, and thinks that Verity’s actions are all part of their ‘Crave’ a strange sexually charged game that they used to play when they were together, where Verity would flirt and ‘pick up’ men whilst Mike looked on from a distance, and then at some signal from Verity Mike would ‘swoop in like ‘a Knight in shining armour’ and rescue her from ‘unwanted attentions’. This obsession eventually leads to tragedy, but the story does not end there.
I do not want to say too much more so as not to ruin the story.  But I would say that if you want to read a really tense psychological thriller then look no further than this book.

Our kind of cruelty is an original psychological thriller. It's not the husband beating the wife, someone who has a hidden past, normally abuse kind of thriller it's actually properly mind twisting. Mike the 30 year old lead character starts writing from prison, he tells the whole story of his life with Verity ending with what happens next. V, is the ex girlfriend who it's fair to say Mike was obsessed about, they enjoyed a long relationship where they played a sexual fantasy game they called the crave. This involved pretending to be strangers in a bar letting blokes chat up V then Mike going in to rescue her, all pretty tame really but, the cues they used were non verbal so confused Mike into misunderstanding of verbal meanings. 
After their break up Mike finds it difficult to come to terms with it and has violent outbursts. Mike's difficult past was talked about and how these things effects his anger,  however, I thought the fact he is clearly autistic would explain many more of the issues he was having. He is convinced V still loves him and will do anything to save her. 

The characters are well written with sympathy coming easily. I did read it in a weekend so I obviously found it a page turner. I would recommend to those that want a change from the norm, a male perspective and a proper psychological thriller.

After going through my blog post drafts, I realised I had a half-finished review of Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall. Rather than attempt a full review, I thought I would share my thoughts in a Recently Read post.  Verity loves Mike.  Mike loves Verity.  They have a special game called the Crave; they will both go to the same bar and Verity will pretend to be single and invite attention from other men.  When other men approach her, Mike will intervene and whisk her away.  *raises eyebrows*  Different strokes for different folks and all that.  When Mike is sent to America for his job, the distance is too much and Mike and Verity split up.  However, Mike is adamant that it is only temporary.  Even when Verity announces her engagement to another man, Mike is insistent it’s just a bigger game of Crave.   Isn’t it?  Oh wow, it is no exaggeration to say I was absolutely addicted to this novel, and in any spare moment I got, I was reading it.  I found myself constantly guessing throughout.  Is it a game? Is it not a game?  IS IT A GAME? It drove me wild (in a good way!).  The story was told from the perspective of Mike, and it was interesting to pick up subtle clues from his interactions with other people.  Mike was an engaging narrator and in fact, he reminded me of Joe in You by Caroline Kepnes, so if you enjoyed that book you should consider picking this one up too.  I rated Our Kind of Cruelty 4* as I desperately wanted Verity’s version of events, even if it was just a short epilogue.

Mike adores Verity. She’s everything to him. His troubled background makes him crave security and love and he thinks Verity is the answer to everything. And he thinks she feels the same. At first she does, and she’s a willing participant in the excitement of their game. But when things change, Mike can’t accept it. And the story gets incredibly dark.

I’m really in two minds about this book. It is well-written, well-paced (not a twisty, turny roller coaster, but a good, slow burner), it’s gripping, and involving. It’s also an extremely thought-provoking and honest account of how women are treated, of how assumptions are made of them, how they better not like sex, or they will be judged. And I think that’s something very important.

That said, I did feel that Mike’s character was a little stereotypical. He’s badly affected by his childhood but there must be something else that makes him behave the way he does. It can’t be that simple. It’s a rather flat portrayal of mental health problems and it does get a little tiring, as someone with experience of mental health issues, to see such ‘easy’ motivations for unlikeable characters.

That said, the scenes that explore the treatment of Verity are excellent, timely, valid, important – the novel is well-worth reading for this alone.

Recommended.

It is an interesting story. The book gave me some good reading hours. But I thought it lacked a little twist. The characters are well built, but it goes almost too previsible to the end. I understand it was the author's choice to leave it with some doubt and some unanswered questions. Nevertheless, I found it quite monotone for a thriller.

I've tried to read this book three times but struggled each time. I do like the idea of the blog but I found it really difficult to get past the first few chapters. I would love to be able to put my finger on the reason why but I can't. Such a shame as I see so many people have really enjoyed it. 

I will try again at some point.

This book had me totally gripped from beginning to end. I found myself looking for reasons to hide away with it for a few minutes, desperate to know what was going to happen next. I found the tension almost unbearable, and the plotting so skilful – I just couldn’t tear my eyes away from what was unfolding before me.

Mike and Verity are no longer together. But when they were together, they played a game in which Verity would sit alone at a bar and wait for a man to approach her, and Mike would step in before anything could happen. Now, living alone, Mike believes they are playing a more elaborate version of this game. He believes that Verity still loves him as much as he loves her, and that she wants him to rescue her from her seemingly happy marriage. He’s bought a house for them to live in. And he’s waiting for Verity’s signal that he should make his move. 

It's impossible to know who to trust and what to believe as you’re reading this clever thriller. Narrator Mike made me feel so unsettled, and I knew that I couldn’t believe the version of Verity he presented, but also knew it was the only one I was going to get. It’s a chilling, breathless read, and I’ll certainly look out for future books by this author.