Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for a review.
Had this book been a fiction thriller it would have got two stars. I would have reviewed it as being totally unbelievable with a very gullible female lead character.
It is true to say that I was practically screaming at Carolyn shouting no- No- for god's sake woman from more or less the first encounter. My this is dodgy radar went off the scale. Incredibly sad to see a woman be taken in so much and sucked into a web of soul destroying lies. That this is a true story makes for a very hard read. My feeling would be to make every woman in the country read this but then the ones that needed it wouldn't believe it. Quite how you make women see abuse I've never discovered. Even hospitalisation/being made penniless doesn't seem to work.
I wish Carolyn all the best and hope that sales from this book go at least some way to increasing her finances. I do hope that others learn from this experience and pass on to other vulnerable women in the vain hope that they may escape a similar fate

Publisher-please change cover- it's awful-makes it look like it's erotic and wonderful to sleep with a psychopath when clearly the opposite is true

A bracelet told fascinating true story. At times I was a little mindblown at how fast and easily things happened, but I guess you can never truly understand unless it’s happened to you!

Mixed emotions reading this one. Part of me felt sorry for her but part of me was frustrated at her for being so gullible especially when it came to her finances. Very sad indeed. Its a good lesson though for everyone to be aware, especially when someone moves at a quick pace to progress a relationship. What are the true intentions.... thought provoking

This book is a cautionary tale. When Carolyn meets Mark, she is swept up in what she thinks is love at first sight. He is exciting and being an incurable romantic, his declaration of love only 72 hours after meeting her, doesn't give her pause for thought, rather it makes her heart sing.

As their relationship develops he leaves her constantly on edge, always letting her down, but somehow managing to soothe her anxieties. When he has cash flow problems, she lends him money, and soon she is left with no savings, no home, no job and isolated from friends and family.

Losing her identity, her confidence and her sanity, she struggles to disentangle herself from his grasp. But when she does finally break away from him, she is about to discover the shocking truth about the monster she had fallen in love with.

A fascinating memoir that highlights the nature of psychopathy and its insidious effect on all those around the psychopath. Carolyn is a brave and resourceful woman, who rebuilt her life after losing everything, and who was determined to seek justice.

A powerful read for sure. It reads like fiction, like the most obscure imaginings from the back of your mind but you constantly remind yourself it’s reality.

Sleeping with a Psychopath is the story of how a successful and happy woman ,Carolyn Woods, was swept off her feet by a charismatic stranger who came into the shop she was helping a friend to run. That man,or so he told her, was Mark Conway, a person who led an incredible life,in every sense of that word it turns out. MI6 agent, mover and shaker with contacts amongst the rich and famous, pilot and who even reveals that he's the secret son of George Soros, who wouldn't be impressed? Anyone with half a brain I concluded as I read the first half of this book, I couldn't believe that anyone would fall for such an obvious fantasist, let alone continue down a path of keeping faith with anyone as they were blatantly ripped off and continually let down as fantastic promises turned to dust every time. I found some of the dialogue between the 2 borderline comical and I have to admit much of the tale was so far-fetched I had trouble believing it.
The latter part of the book ,when the penny finally drops,shows that Carolyn is actually a very intelligent lady and that's the whole nub of the book, Conway (even that was a lie) and his like are so convincing that they can fool highly intelligent people into believing the most outrageous garbage and continuing to do so once they're hooked. Carolyn ,discovers that "Conway" ,who has by now robbed her of everything and completely wrecked her life, is a known and prolific con man so goes to the police. If only it were that simple....................

I really struggled with this book at first as it was such an incredible story I had my doubts about its veracity and actually Googled Carolyn's name thinking if nothing comes up I won't bother finishing it. After confirmation that the events actually happened I carried on and discovered that she was far from the only intelligent person she'd duped,some apparently too embarrassed to even speak to the police about him. The police investigation,or eventual investigation,makes up a large part of the book and will be a real eye-opener for most,as will the insight into our supposedly world Justice system.

As I read on my initial reservations were proved wrong as Carolyn gives an insight into psychopathy from various sources, even an experienced journalist knowing his extensive record and exactly how he manipulated people found himself sympathising with Mark when he interviewed him, sorry for doubting Carolyn. When I'd finished the book I watched an interview with Carolyn on YouTube and she's a very intelligent and eloquent lady.certainly no fool.

This is sobering read in a number of ways and from the news it appears that more and people, are becoming the victims of manipulative and coercive people with very little chance of them being brought to justice. From a shaky start I was hooked and this is an involving and thought-provoking read.

do love a non fiction read occasionally and this is a kindle deal that instantly caught my eye. I definitely haven’t been disappointed.

This is a book based on the crimes of Mark Acklom and his deceit to the author. You cannot help but want to give her a big cwtch even though you may question her actions. It’s definitely an account that will leave you in utter shock at the manipulation and deception that has taken place. Following reading this, I am keen to watch the documentary about Acklom.

I am absolutely stunned by the antics of Acklom. I cannot believe I haven’t come across this one before now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mark Acklom is a fraudster but Carolyn Woods did not know that when she met him in the shop where she worked in January 2012. Despite instantly falling in love with him she was still trying to find out his surname 4 weeks later, and then the one given wasn't Acklom it was Conway.

This is a fascinating tale as well as a warning to unsuspecting women of how easily life can come unravelled. Now that's not to say I didn't approach the read with a certain amount of scepticism, after all I'm really not sure I'd hand over vast sums of money to someone I'd not long met even though I have to take Carolyn's assertions that it was different if you were there.

Interestingly the book doesn't stop at the fraud played upon this poor woman, it covers the later police investigation which took far longer than seems reasonable.

A well written story that really conveys the depths that this man led the author to whilst he was having fun! I hope Carolyn makes some money from this book as a small recompense.

Wow. I don't even know how to put into words how I feel about this book. The things this women went through. This book really got me thinking how love can make you blind

This is Woods’s memoir of falling for the wrong man, one who will make your worst hook-up look good. Woods is an intelligent woman who finds herself quickly taken in by Mark Conway, a man who proclaims to be both a wealthy banker and a spy. And while the claims seem preposterous from this angle, Conway manages to charm and seduce his way into Woods’s life and her mind. By the time she discovers that the only thing real about her lover is his wealth, it’s too late. This is an intense look at how easy it can be to lose yourself in someone else’s lies

Psychopathic tendencies include -
🔸socially irresponsible behavior
🔸disregarding or violating the rights of others
🔸inability to distinguish between right and wrong
difficulty with showing remorse or empathy
🔸tendency to lie often
manipulating and hurting others
🔸recurring problems with the law
🔸general disregard towards safety and responsibility

OMFG so so many alarm bells would have been going off in my head & the behaviour he exhibited in those first 24 hours would have had me running for the hills! Or is it just easy for me to say that having never been in this kinda situation before? I didn't realise this was a true story to start with, so I did a little research & read the news reports...what an absolute uncaring bastard (that's me being polite) he was!

I loved Dirty John when it was on Netflix, so if you too were a fan of that you'll find this book fascinating at the depraved lengths these men will stoop to!

I feel so sorry for any woman who finds herself in this situation, thinking she's found 'The one', yet he's just interested in milking her for everything she has, not caring what financial & mental destruction he is causing.

This was an open & honest account of one woman's fight for survival!

And I'm so glad karma finally caught up with him!

Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 5 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴