‘Eight months ago… A nice house in a nice neighbourhood.’

Liz Zahavi has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). A diagnostic label that raises more issues than it defines. Liz is desperate for answers: she wants to be understood, she wants to be well; she wants her partner Jay to stay with her (he has threatened to leave plenty of times). Liz hopes that therapy will help, and when Jay agrees to pay for private therapy, she is keen to make it work. After all, Liz thinks she is lucky to have Jay in her life and she has a good relationship with her 9-year-old stepdaughter, Anya.

An appointment is made, and Liz sets off. But a car crash on the way to her first appointment changes things. Jude, a local farmer, with his own history of tragedy, rescues her.

While this story made me uncomfortable in places, I admire the way in which Mr Marks developed Liz’s character. Mr Marks captures the emotional volatility and impulsive behaviour of BPD, which can be a difficult mental health condition to live with. But I kept wanting to step outside the story, to slow it down and get Liz to focus. Can she find happiness? And what about Jude?

An unsettling read.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Elizabeth (Betsy/Lizzie/Liz) Zahavi is in a relationship with controlling Jay. Recently diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder she arranges an appointment with a therapist. She gets hideously lost on her way, ends up in a remote valley, gets very confused and crashes her car. She is rescued by Jude ... what unfolds over the next year tests Liz to her limits in this extremely well written thriller.

First of all, kudos to the author for the way he portrays Liz’s condition with the dreamlike quality of some of her rambling thoughts and her mood swings which can go from highs to such lows to the degree that she has been suicidal. Liz is immensely likeable, I love her randomness, her lively personality and her humour. Jude is enigmatic so it takes a while to weigh him up but you so want to believe in him. There’s a good mix of characters, some to loathe and fear and some to like and all are well depicted. There’s a dreamlike, weird Gothic vibe to this story which I love with settings that are atmospheric. There are some rich, beautiful and often magical descriptions. The story is full of tension and suspense, there’s malice and cruelty, there are some evil, violent characters who try to get what they want any way they can. The valley becomes a scene from something more akin to the Wild West, you can clearly see who the ‘baddies’ are, you are fairly certain who the ‘goodies’ are and what they are fighting for and why. However, you cannot be sure who is pulling the strings which makes this extremely intriguing but also chilling. The ending is tense, exciting and has an unexpected twist.

Overall, I think this is an excellent thriller with a very good plot that enthrals to the end.

With thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the arc for an honest review.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book.

I absolutely loved this book. I had not read any previous works by David Mark but I read a great review by a friend on goodreads and she raved about this book. I trust her reviews so I took a chance and I could not have been more thrilled by this thriller!

I am a new and true fan. I can’t wait to read David Mark’s next novel.

Firstly, I have to applaud the author's description of BPD which is the condition that the main character Liz suffers from. He has the struggles that come with this mental health issue down pat in accordance to what I understand about it from my work with sufferers of BPD or EUPD as it is often now known as too.
So Liz lives with partner Jay and his daughter Anya. On the face of things they are coping and ticking along OK. But Liz is never far from a crisis and she feels that Jay is getting to the end of his tether so she makes an appointment with a professional. Sadly she never makes the appointment as she gets a bit too worked up and her journey to the therapist's house is a bit of a disaster, culminating in her getting lost and crashing her car. She's in a bit of a spot until a knight in shining armour comes to her rescue in the form of Jude, a nearby farmer who picks her up, takes her to his to rest and get cleaned up, gets her car sorted, all before dropping her back to her sister's house. It's a short but very intense connection Liz has with Jude, one that she eventually is desperate to return to and it isn't long before Jay gives her reason to do just that. But Jude has a past which also threatens his present and, by association, Liz's too. As she falls deeper both under his spell and into his world, that world gets more and more dangerous. How far will he go to protect what is his and where does Liz fit into that equation?
Well... this hit the ground running and didn't let up until the very end. Jam packed with action and intrigue and menace and, well quite a bit of emotion too. Well, that's the nature of BPD. We start with Liz and Anya in peril and then go back a few months to fill in the time that led up to what happened. We learn that Jude is not all he seems, we meet the lord of the manor who was present when Liz had her rash and his wife who both play key roles in what is happening to Jude. And then there's Maeve, Jude's deceased wife whose death is not wholly explained and fingers are still pointing to various people... All the time Liz is just wanting love and safety and security. Whew... what a ride!
It's dark and creepy and very character driven. Pacing is slow in parts as the layers build up but follow the narrative well, speeding up as the action gets going. It's hard to read in parts as Liz's story is quite harrowing in places, but at the same time it drew me in so hard that I was powerless to step away. It really did suck me in, only spitting me out at the end, knackered but wholly satisfied.
I've read a few of this author's stand alone books and I know he has also written a series and I know I keep saying I will give that a whirl. I am still yet to do that but I will do my best to fit them in between this and his next new book. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Liz, or Betsy as she now calls herself, has BPD. Desperate for her current partner to love her, and equally desperate to get better, her life changes after she never makes it to her first therapy appointment.
Rescued by Jude, seemingly a knight in shining armour compared to her current existence, things start to make a turn for the worse when she is dragged into the murkiness of Jude's past, present and future.

I was hooked. I started reading this book this morning and didn't put it down again until I had finished it. The description of what was going on inside Betsy's head was so illustrative that it made you question everything about everyone else, and you were really put in her shoes. This does give this book potential to be triggering, so those concerned should read with caution.

I have not read a book like this before. I have read about protagonists with paranoia, and protagonists who have mental illnesses, but not to this extent. The author makes you want to root for Betsy as you can see her as the rainbow in a sky of grey clouds, but he also appears to capture the reality of it. You forgive her anyway. I do not have BPD so I cannot advocate for whether it is truly accurate, but it appeared convincing, and it didn't detract from her likability in my opinion. Overall, it was an intriguing and explosive plot and a book that I would definitely recommend to those who enjoy a psychological thriller.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Severn House for the opportunity to review this book.

I’m sorry, I really didn’t like this book. I’m afraid it was just too gothic and weird with characters I didn’t care enough about to be interested.

Lizzie and her stepdaughter are in a terrifying situation, the story then goes back 8 months to explain how and why they are in this predicament. Lizzie suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and is in a strange and controlling relationship with Jay.
The writing style didn’t engage me and I’m afraid it was all too weird for me and I soon lost interest in finding out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

David Mark has flourished ever since he let go of his ties to a crime series, letting his imaginative run riot in numerous directions, all of them on the darker side of life. Here, it is his characterisation that is stellar, 34 year old Liz Zahavi lives in Durham with her partner, Jay, with a close relationship to her step daughter, 9 year old Anya. Jay is far from a ideal man, he erodes any sense of self esteem Liz might have, providing her with barely enough money to live on. Despite this, Liz believes she is lucky to have Jay, she knows she is a difficult person to live with, having been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This means she is emotionally volatile, swinging from intense highs to lows, her behaviour often impulsive, with a tendency to overshare, paranoid, obsessive and unstable, plagued by disturbed patterns of thinking and perception, with a tendency for self sabotage. To say that she is a hard person to handle is an understatement, this is not a easy mental health issue to live with.

The story opens with Liz and Anya in desperate danger, and we go back 8 months to understand how they ended up in this terrifying situation. Liz is making her way to Corbridge for a first appointment with a therapist, only to find herself lost and in a car accident. She is helped by a good looking local farmer, Jude, introducing herself as Betsy, there is an immediate attraction between them. As Liz's relationship breaks down in spectacular and almost tragic circumstances, she goes to live with Jude in what at first appears to be a rural idyll. However, not all is as at seems, there are local rumours that Jude murdered his animal activist wife, Maeve, and hints of a much darker and dangerous side to him. Then there is the local lord of the manor, intent on driving Jude out of his home, by any means necessary, including brutal violence and horrifying intimidation tactics. Given Betsy's BPD, her propensity for self sabotage and growing suspicions of Jude, is their love a doomed affair?

Mark does a wonderful job in illustrating what BPD means for a person, the issues that make life hard, but what broke my heart was the desperate and devastating trauma and abuse Betsy has suffered as a child with her drug addict mother, the care and foster homes, the self harm, depression and suicide attempts in her past and how she is so often disbelieved. This is a dark, edgy and entertaining character driven melodrama that turns into an unexpectedly twisted and surprising thriller. Once again the author writes a totally absorbing, riveting, and an unsettling psychological crime read that I am certain many readers will love. Many thanks to Severn House for an ARC.

A difficult read, found it hard to get into but then suddenly you’re gripped by what is a very intriguing storyline. A most unusual novel, well worth reading and I’m glad I persevered to the very end.

I loved this very much! The characters, the actions and even the plot itself! Very inspiring for my own book too!

A very enjoyable book. A little bit dark, mysterious and rather twisted, but enjoyable read nonetheless.
Betsy ( as she prefers to be called) endures a traumatic night on the roads, which then leads to a dreamlike sequence of events leading her to an idyllic life with a new partner. There are some great sounding places in the book, the Dingle being my favourite, what a magical place that sounds!
However like all dream-like situations this one has a sticky part to be endured.
Very well written and a very good read.

The word 'intense' doesn't even begin to describe this book. It starts with Lizzy and her stepdaughter in a very frightening situation, and from there the story of how they come to be in the woods together folds back to where Lizzy was not even a year ago. Not happy, but safe nevertheless. Caught in a relationship with someone who is absolutely not respecting her, and mainly needs her to be a cook, a cleaner and a babysitter for his young daughter Anya. Luckily Anya and Lizzy get along fine, sometimes too fine according to her boyfriend. All her life Lizzy felt a little different, and now she's diagnosed with BPD, she knows why. Determent to find someone to help her, she makes an appointment with a clinic but on the way, she gets lost. Lost in the country, but also very much lost in her own mind.
Although I have no idea how it is to live with (someone who has) BPD, the way David Mark writes about it, I felt very sorry for Lizzy in the first place. It's not easy for her family and friends but I wouldn't want to be so utterly destroyed when getting a little lost on the way to an appointment as Lizzy is.
She's rescued, and a whole new life begins. Although... there are forces at work that are set upon destroying this new life. And Lizzy has to fight even harder to maintain what she has now.

An excellent, excellent story that shows us that people who are suffering from a mental disease are not crazy or stupid, just different. Lizzy is a great personality. There are some other characters in the book who show that being very rich or from privileged background, won't say you are a good person with the well-being of people and animals in mind.

As much as I like the McAvoy series, I'm very happy I got send a digital review copy of this standalone novel. Thanks to Netgalley and Severn House.

I believe this is my first book by David Mark. It won’t be my last. I was very intrigued by the blurb and was sucked into this book. It definitely kept me engaged throughout. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author.

There's a dark core that runs through all of David Mark's writing, whether it's a by-product of community history in the landscapes of the north of England (Still Waters, Cold Bones), or the more modern areas of criminal activity found in his DS McAvoy series (Scorched Earth), in his standalone horror writing (A Rush of Blood) or historical fiction (The Zealot's Bones). It's not surprising then that even when he turns his hand to romantic melodrama in the style of Daphne du Maurier, that he somehow still manages to bring a dark edge to the story.

The familiar strengths of David Mark's writing are evident in Suspicious Minds from the get-go. The first is how he reliably establishes a tense dangerous situation, often involving a sympathetic character who is in a lot of trouble. We don't yet know much about Liz in the first few pages of the prologue, but it's hard to imagine that she has done anything bad enough to deserve being taken into the woods with the 9 year old daughter of her partner to be executed by a man who seems to be unmoved by their desperate pleas. Which brings us to another of the author's strengths; his ability to depict real people without ever falling back on standard stereotypes, unique individuals, some too sympathetic to be in the situation that Liz and Anya are to find themselves in eight months later.

On the other hand, as we go back eight months and get to know her, the chances are that Liz (or Betsy as she later chooses to call herself) was always going to end up in trouble of one sort or another. Without getting bogged down in clinical technicalities, Mark takes the time to describe Liz's struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder and the difficulties this causes in her family life. It doesn't help that she seems to be living with a man who exploits her low self-esteem and her doomed-to-fail efforts to get help for this mental disorder. It's just a question of how bad it is going to be and knowing David Mark (and having already gained some indication from the prologue), it has the potential to be very grim and serious indeed.

There is always as much to enjoy in his characters as there is in the dark violent drama that usually unfolds, so you can make the most of Mark going almost full romantic drama for a large part of the novel, albeit with characters like Liz that are just a little more edgy than usual. Edgy maybe, but wonderfully human, people you can recognise and relate to, laugh at and sympathise with. Even if it takes a while to gain any indication of how the plot is going to take a turn for the worse, the writing and characters are strong enough that you almost regret that it's going to inevitably head off in in a darker, nastier direction.

Almost but not quite. Much as it's wonderful to see a talented writer like Mark stretch himself successfully in this direction, you get the feeling that the crime drama this time is rather perfunctory, secondary to his love of writing about characters that are undoubtedly close to home. If it weren't for the prologue, tactfully put there upfront, you would have little indication that the story would be heading in a thriller direction for a good third of the book. There are hints dropped about a surly and nasty lord of the manor and suggestions that he may have played a hand in some "accidents" in the otherwise near idyllic farmland, but none of it is as original or surprising as the shocks that Mark usually drops in.

Although the story takes some conventional Hitchcockian or Du Maurien twists in the romantic melodrama vein with characters straying a little towards caricature, Mark successfully manages to give the plotting a more substantial, modern and more realistic edge by the fact that the darkness this time comes very much from within. And it's not just the darkness of the condition that Liz struggles with - even if that does seem to make her a magnet for trouble - but all of the characters have struggles with inner demons to one extent or another. The darkness comes from somewhere real, and when it comes together with the darkness in the world outside, it can only mean trouble on a scale that you only get from David Mark.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.
David Mark has done it again, I absolutely love this author.
Liz Zahavi had Borderline Personality Disorder and is in a shaky relationship with Jay, desperate for his love, but he constantly belittles her. The only good thing in the relationship is his little daughter, who loves her.
On a trip to her psychiatrist she gets hopefully lost, ends up in a car accident and rested by a farmer. She ends up leaving home and staying with the farmer, Jude. She falls deeply in love, but her mind keeps playing trips. Is he as good as he seems to be or is he secretly a violent murderer?
This is such an intense read! It was disturbing, lyrical and impossible to put down. Liz is not that likeable in the beginning because of her thought processes, but the further I got into the story, the more I admired her. The constant threat the couple gets from some of the villagers is frightening, but Jude refuses to give in to them and Liz becomes a strong, feisty woman despite all odds.I
Another great standalone from Mr. Mark; he's become one of those authors I wait for with bated breath...more please!