I am afraid I had no amount of sympathy for this gullible woman totally taken by a conman Mark Conway/Acklom. Carolyn Woods tells this 'true' story having met this man when he came in to her dress shop in the Cotswolds - hardly believable! Besotted, she gave him her phone number, had him to her house and within a month has given him lots of money.

For a woman of her age did she not have ANY suspicions? I am sorry but I lost patience with her and the book.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for the chance to read and review.

The cover of this book attracted me to the book, then the blurb made me think it was the a Hollywood movie story. But sadly it's not a book based on a Hollywood movie....

Its the true story of Carolyn Woods and how she was conned and 'gaslighted' by a man she believed to be called Mark Conway (he actually is called something different.

Mark came into the shop where Carolyn worked in Tetbury. She had relocated there after she had been divorced and her grown up daughters had fled the nest. She was a savvy, strong, attractive and financially independent woman. Living her life, her way enjoying a more simple life.

Mark came along and completely swept her off her feet. She fell in love with him at first sight (I think we all secretly want that to happen and to live happily ever after!)

Within weeks they were "head over heels in love" and talking buying houses and lavish weddings. Within months Carolyn has handed over every penny she had, sold her property, given up her job and become a shadow of the former person she was. She lost everything and very nearly everyone all for someone she believed to be the "perfect" man, the "perfect" partner for her in life.

I could say so much more about this story, but for one it is not my story to tell and for two Carolyn sadly tells it so well. It really did make me sit up and think about my former marriage and whilst my ex husband never had the intelligence nor did we have the financial ability to act the way Mark did to Carolyn some of his techniques were hauntingly similar.

I picked this book, as I said at the start, I felt it was a Hollywood blockbuster. But I can't help but feel there should be more books about this topic as it happens to more and more people and not just those with financial motivation. I googled the real name of Carolyn's Mark and there were 26300 hits he even has his own wikipedia page.

I won't spoil the ending for anyone looking to read this book, All I will say is if that hot date seems to good to be true, did your homework they just might be. Read this and remember the story. Always have a bit of a guard up and the right person will be happy to prove you wrong and break that guard. My second husband, currently 12 years together had to break down a lot of my walls because of what my ex who "Gaslighted" me did and that was nothing compared to what Carolyn went through.

I just want to say to the author Carolyn Woods, Thankyou for writing your story. By you sharing your story it has made me realise that it wasn't my fault and for that reason alone know you've helped one woman approaching her 40's admit that I do have the right to be happy. For that reason alone this book deserves 5 stars and I hope you get what you want out of life,

I started listening to this book on audio and unfortunately I was not enjoying the story or the narrator and to be honest after a couple of chapters I was going to give up on it . To me the whole theory of a woman meeting a handsome ,rich ,successful business man who als0 worked for MI6 was totally unbelievable and Carolyn was totally besotted in days.
Before I gave up totally I checked the reviews on Amazon which were very mixed this is where I discovered it was actually a true story and Carolyn was duped out of £850,000 so I stuck with it
This is a very long winded story of how a gullible woman was completely duped by a vey clever guy who has a very long history of being a successful conman
The book repeats things that happened in several places and although I give credit to Carolyn for her determination and persistence to bring the guy to justice there is still a feeling for me is that despite the fact this is a true story the whole story is still unbelievable as the saying goes "When something seems too good to be true it usually is"
Even after getting to the end of the book I still don't know why Mark Acklom targeted Carolyn in the first place she wasn't exactly living a wealthy life and worked in a clothes shop , She was living in a rented cottage and the cash she had was from a property sale and was only in the bank while she looked for another property to buy.
Unfortunately for me this book did not improve and although I hate the idea of anyone being conned and treated like Carolyn was by Mark Acklom this book to me did not make a good read

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this but this book is not for me.

A true story of live and deception told by a woman whose life was destroyed by a seductive conman, Mark Acklom. Carolyn Woods was working in a quiet Cotswold village when an attractive stranger arrived in her life and swept her off her feet, although over time things began to change and Carolyn life was turned upside down and destroyed.

I really enjoyed this to begin with, it got me hooked and wanted to spend every available minute reading it, however as the book progressed it was slow going for me, first half of the book certainly was the best although overall it was a good read.

Thankyou netgalley for my ARC copy in exchange for an honest review

This book tells the story of Carolyn Woods and is based on a true story. If it had not been a true account of what actually happened to her, I am sure I would not have continued with the story and dismissed it as ridiculous.

However, the fact that Carolyn really was taken in by Mark, and was totally deceived by his web of lies makes it an extraordinary read. There were many times where I was shouting NO at her through the book, also saying "don't believe him, don't be silly, how can you be so gullible?" because to me there were too many red flags going up that would have alerted me to his double life.

Nevertheless, the book was well written and obviously portrays an accurate account of Carolyn's life with Mark, and for that I can only thank her and hope she will help future women (and men) from being conned in the same way.

I liked the cover and felt it matched the book perfectly.

This is a fascinating and disturbing true story which really blew my mind. What this guy got away with is truly the type of story you would see on a movie screen. It was very sad to hear about the deep depression that Carolyn ended up in due to the way this man played with her head and emotions. At times if I’m honest though I found it a bit hard to like her as she seemed to not take responsibility for what she did as well but I guess unless you are in the situation you will never know how you will react or feel.

Overall I enjoyed this although if you remember the press reports during the trial it won’t really surprise you. I’m not sure that Sleeping with a Psychopath was an apt title. Was he a psychopath or just clever, cruel and manipulative? This is one for those people who asked “how did she fall for it”. Read this with an open mind.

A very moving true story that has you screaming at her and also the police that refuse to help.

A true story of Carolyn Woods as she falls for a conman who conned her out of all her money and totally controlled her in everything she did.
It starts off with you screaming at her to see the red flags flying from the first message he sent her.
But I totally understand how easy you can get took in and start to be controlled without you realising it.
All the money she loaned for house refurbishment without ever going to see the house is hard to understand and again you wanted to scream at her.

I couldn`t believe how difficult it was to get the police to take notice of her, thank god he was finally caught and imprisoned.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sleeping with a Psychopath by Carolyn Woods Narrated by: Jan Cramer. A true story of love and deception told by the woman whose life was destroyed by a seductive conman, Mark Acklom. The British Dirty John.
This was a book I wanted to listen to. or read and I was so chuffed I had this book to listen to. However, I was so disappointed with this audiobook. I can sadly say I struggled with the narrator Jan Cramer - she was awful!!! 2/5
I am a big fan of audio books but she was not the right person to tell this story!

I ended up reading this book which was so much better - Shame though.

Big thank you to the publishers .Harper Collins, and to Netgalley for my copy.

Did not finish could not finish. This review must be 100 characters to clear it off my shelf. Not sure what to say. I honestly did like the cover though. Hoping this is long enough now.

After a job change and divorce, Carolyn Woods was living happily in a quiet Cotswolds village when an attractive stranger abruptly arrived in her life. Introducing himself as Mark Conway and much to her surprise Carolyn quickly became captivated by this mysterious man.

I devoured this book over the course of one day. It is thrilling, and throughout the story takes twists and turns and you're never sure where it will quite go next, except for one certainty that you know it won't end well. This has the feel of becoming a Netflix drama, I absolutely loved it. I wouldn't say it was a five star or the best thriller, but the story kept you hooked and I enjoyed it.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Oh dear. As a true story this made for an uncomfortable read. I just wanted to reach in and help Carolyn. It all happened so fast and he obviously completely wooed her.
In terms of a book to read it was detail intense. At aboout a 1/3 of the way through I was pained that I was only 1/3 of the way through. Not because it wasnt well written (it is) but there was more to come when I just wanted Mark to stop.
I am glad you got the resolution you did Carolyn.

Anything to do with psychopaths and I’m intrigued! So I had to request to read this.

It was a good read and I liked seeing how things unfolded but I found myself scanning and reading quickly. It definitely reminded me of Dirty John!

I think I found her very naive and I know I shouldn’t have judged! But I just wanted to shake her! How could she be so silly?
So I think I my annoyance overruled my joy of reading.

I’m glad he was caught and I’m sorry it happened to her and the others.

Thank you NetGalley !

This is a true story and whilst I have heard several such tales in the media, I am not a big watcher of TV chat shows/daytime TV etc so I was not specifically familiar with Carolyn’s story.
This is a straightforward recollection of the events as they happen, and it was interesting to see how it all happened, but the writing is quite repetitive & full of clichés – more suited to a Daily Mail serialisation than a book!
A recent divorcee with grown up children, Carolyn is working in a small boutique in Tetbury, having recently relocated to the Cotswolds. She is living in a rented cottage whilst looking for a property to purchase, so has quite a lot of money in the bank and with her children now grown up, Carolyn is looking forward to being independent and living “her own life” when she meets a man who will turn her life upside down.

I listened to parts of this book on the audiobook version (which is narrated by Carolyn herself) and read parts. As a book, I would give it 2 stars, but as an audiobook it moves to 3.5 stars. The audiobook made it more “real” and less dry. This wouldn’t have been the case if it had been told by somebody else – somehow it felt very personal to have Carolyn telling her story.

Carolyn is obviously trying to balance her vulnerability in telling her story, with her insight as a victim but overall I found it hard to warm to her. She comes across as quite superficial (vain, appearance focussed and quite snobby) yet obviously quite intelligent too and yet she still fell for a conman.
She repeatedly states that she valued her privacy and independence but within days of meeting Mark Conway/Acklom, she has not only given him her phone number but had him to her house and within a month has given him £26,000! Mark Conway/Acklom had spent many years perfecting the deceptions, so whilst I can see how easily Carolyn could have initially got drawn in, I also got frustrated by the way she constantly chose to ignore the warnings of friends and family in favour of a man she’d known for just weeks.
Towards the end, she is obviously frustrated by the way the police handle the investigation but takes little responsibility for her own actions, her greed/desire for the lifestyle that had been promised and her willingness to just hand over every aspect of her life without ever questioning it.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#SleepingwithaPsychopath #NetGalley

This book was not at all what I was expecting. Unfortunately for me it did not really read as a thriller but more of a memoir.

I found the authors retelling of the story rather dry and at times the chapters seemed to drag on a bit.

I also found it hard to empathise with author - although it is a true story, it just seems so far fetched that anyone would believe it. I disliked how the author seemed to come from quite a privileged life, yet didn’t seem to really take responsibility for herself. In the second half of the book she comes across as rather rude to the police, and I wondered where this sudden ability to stand up for herself came from.

As the saying goes - if something seems to good to be true, it usually is!

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 3*
Writing skill : 4*
Shock Factor: 10
Pace: 3*

Now on paper this is absolutely my kind of book, true crime- CHECK, Psychotic weirdo -CHECK, completely unbelievable storyline - CHECK! However and I'm sad to say it this was just so unbelievably far fetched I couldn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. I know this is true crime, and it actually happened, I'm not going to say she's lying, I just cannot believe people fall for these scams. And the way in which she fell (HARD!!) I'm still shocked a few days later. I think were supposed to feel sorry for her but I just couldn't. However, I did like the way after a chapter she would reflect on how she now feels about the situation she found herself in, it was really insightful. Overall it was okay but bloody frustrating.

I'm so sorry to have to write negativity about a book but even from the start it just seemed utterly ridiculous that a grown woman would even fall for the sleazy guy that came to try on a jacket.
After several painful chapters the story does seem to expand and get better.
I think the author maybe should have told her story and got a ghost writer involved instead of trying to write it herself.
It would have been a great novel if written correctly..

It’s really hard to give feedback for this because it is one woman’s life story so I can’t say it could or should be any different!
I couldn’t put it down - mainly because I just wanted to see some just desserts! I never once felt anything but pity for Carolyn and hope she is as happy as she looks now!
I found the last part a bit long winded - but it is well worth the read!!

Love the way Carolyn Woods has written about her true life horror story. I can see even as a very intelligent woman why she was initially charmed and duped into a relationship. This man was unbelievably evil. Hope other women read this as it shows lots of warning signs anyone dating need to look out for.

What a gripping book! I found it hard to put down. I also really liked the way some extracts from fiction books were included at the start of each chapter.