Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review. Provided as This Immaculate Body but some have this title as Creep: A Love Story' - which I think works better.

On balance, I did enjoy this book, though I found it quite hard to read. In my opinion, the author used long run-on sentences and paragraphs to mimic the slightly peculiar mind of Alice, our main character. She is definitely a creepy one; clearly stalking Tom, whose house she cleans every week, and believing they are destined to be together. Alice goes to extreme lengths to orchestrate the perfect 'meet-cute' with Tom but, when things do not go the way she planned, her actions spiral. The writing becomes more manic, at times making it difficult to read, but good pace is maintained throughout. You'll definitely need something light to read afterwards; and perhaps get to know your cleaners a bit better!!

The book opens with an intriguing premise centered around Alice, who meticulously cleans Tom's flat every Wednesday. During her visits, she not only makes his bed and counts his vitamins but also checks his emails, all while nurturing the belief that she loves him. Despite having never met, Alice is convinced that when Tom finally sees her, he will fall madly in love with her, too. This storyline unfolds in a peculiar and quietly disturbing manner, maintaining a fast pace throughout. However, it could benefit from a touch more balance in its development. While not suited for those who scare easily, it does venture into somewhat cringeworthy territory at times. A special thanks is due to Little, Brown Book Group UK | Fleet editors for providing access to this ARC.

Alice thinks this is a love story, Alice is wrong.

On the surface this is a story of obsession, Alice cleans Toms flat every Wednesday, she makes his bed, counts his vitamins, checks his emails, and thinks she loves him. Alice and Tom have never met but Alice is sure that the first time he sees her he will fall madly in love with her too.

A story of obsession and unhinged women is right up my street, so when I got my hands on a copy it went straight to the top of my TBR.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Alice in this story as it was obvious there was an underlying issue of self-hatred pair with some family issues. I wish Alices relationship with her sister was explored a little deeper as I feel everything could be traced back to an incident in their early years. Despite this Alice is definitely a complex character. She desperately wants to be loved but has no problem using and judging others to get what she wants.

All of Alices antics and schemes made for a quick paced, somewhat whacky story. If you enjoyed Baby Reindeer and would like a story from the other POV then this is the book for you.

Dazzling in its prose and pace. Dark and terrifying. This is one of the big novels of 2025. A fantastic debut from Emma Van Straaten.

Absolutely enthralling. I am writing this after reading the entire book in one delightfully horrified sitting. What an absolute talent. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this absolute privilege.

This book had me turning pages whilst simultaneously being thoroughly disturbed by the actions of Alice.
The characters are incredibly well written, with Alice starting out seeming to have something of a harmless crush and developing into so much worse without seeming to realise just how wrong her chosen path is.
Alice comes across as very vulnerable and obviously lacks any support network as her family allow her to dig herself ever deeper into her fantasy.
thought provoking given recent publicity of another female stalker situation.

Thank you to Fleet publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was really taken by this story from the very first page, it is written with a fast moving pace which reflects the thoughts and actions of the main character, Alice. It describes so well her tormented mind, her self destructive nature and her deep desire to be loved and held. It kept reminding me of the purportedly true TV series Baby Reindeer, I imagine these are the sort of thoughts the female stalker in that had. I was fascinated by this deep insight into Alice’s mind and world, though also saddened that this is probably a very real representation of some people with deeply disturbed mental health problems.
Throughout most of the book I thought I’d be giving a 5* review, but it felt unfinished, a disappointing’end’. Maybe there’s going to be a sequel, I would read it, would like to hear more about Alice.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I am not quite sure what to say about this book. The beginning is strong stuff and I felt quite ill when I read about all the things poor Alice did to feel closer to Tom - eating stray eyelashes, for example, and licking things. Ugh! I almost stopped reading.

The book is well written and it describes in excruciating detail the thoughts and actions of an obsessive and lonely young woman. Alice is not just mildly obsessed with Tom, it seems to me that she is mentally ill and I suppose it is testament to the quality of the writing that I really felt as if I was intruding into the life of a vulnerable adult.

It is a very uncomfortable read and I do wonder what is the point of it. Alice is a disturbed young woman, very much in need of help, and I question in what way is the reader entertained or improved by reading about this sad situation? it is not an enjoyable read and neither do we learn anything useful. At times I felt like I was reading case notes.

As far as the actual plot is concerned, I don't feel that we found out enough about what had happened to Alice regarding her father, the parental break up and the incident at university.

A very uncomfortable read.

What a disturbing book, I loved it. I was recently considering getting a cleaner for my house, but this book has changed my mind. A gripping look at obsession from a deeply unreliable narrator, this book is delightfully dark. As her worldview gets more and more unhinged, the plot gets harder and harder to follow until I was rereading sections just to understand what was actually happening. I really enjoyed this read.

An entertaining novel that was easy to read and enjoyable. However, some of felt like it didn't really add up and then when finally getting the answers they were somewhat disappointing.

Beautifully written, this novel about obsessive love and self-loathing drew me in from the first page. While deeply sad and disturbing at times, I found it compulsively readable, wondering what was going to happen next. Unputdownable.

I've read a lot of books about obsession and they're always hit and miss. I find Megan Abbott's stories about obsessive female relationships compelling while those by Robin Wasserman and Tara Isabella Burton feel forced. Recently, Tony Tulathimutte's Rejection kept me glued to the pages with a mix of pity and revulsion while This Immaculate Body just didn't work for me. I'm going to try to explain why.

The writing put me off almost immediately. I noticed another reviewer say it was overwritten, but I'd argue you could say the same about Tulathimutte's work. No, it's not just overwritten. It is written in a way that suggests to me the author was trying to be deliberately edgy. Graphic descriptions of menstrual blood and clots that try and fail to add gravity and edge to something as simple as using the bathroom. In fact, lots of weird thoughts about blood in general.

The story is about a woman called Alice who is a cleaner for a guy called Tom and she develops an obsession with him, though they have never actually met. As a cleaner, Alice is able to get acquainted with the intimate details of Tom's life from the contents of his drawers and his fridge. Conveniently, of course, unlike absolutely no one except your ninety-year-old grandpa, Tom regularly leaves his computer unlocked and without password protection so Alice can read his emails.

In Tulathimutte's Rejection, I could understand the characters' actions, even as I was repulsed by them. In This Immaculate Body I felt a disconnection, like I did not understand Alice's thoughts or actions at all.

Maybe it is because we are plunged straight into Alice's unhinged behaviour without any character development, explanation or background, but, unlike other readers, I couldn't muster any sympathy for Alice. If you want me to sympathise with someone who behaves in this way, I’m going to need more of a build-up of empathy for them. As it was, I struggled to feel sorry for Alice, which I think was crucial to liking the book.

And, unfortunately, by the time the book started to humanise Alice and offer up suggestions for why she was the way she was, it was already too little, too late for me.

I could imagine fans of heavily-written character studies like Cline's The Girls enjoying this.

This thriller will ensnare you in a tight grip until the satisfying conclusion. There were more twists and turns in this book than a roller coaster ride! Wow!... I was sitting there in complete surprise with a wide-open mouth! If you like a good thriller with lots of twists, you need look no further!

I was surprised at how quickly I responded to the narrative voice in this visceral, harrowing story, especially because Alice is not likeable. The skill of the author is how she makes you care; without pulling any punches, she reveals the soul hidden behind the broken shell.

Complex, riveting, lush, shocking, evocative. I read this in a day and can’t recommend it more enthusiastically.

Books about obsession are normally right up my alley, and overall I did enjoy this one, but it didn't keep me totally enthralled the way I was expecting. A little too overwritten at times, for me.

I liked this novel, though I didn't love it. It's a compelling portrait of a woman's obsession with the man's whose flat she cleans and her increasinly unhinged actions. She is a fantastically unlikable character, which isn't a bad thing, though in this case it ultimately put me off.

I found this really disturbing, upsetting even, this tale of obsession and fantasy and being at odds with the world. A dark but addictive tale although there was some light peeping through.

This is my first Emma Van Straaten book and what a brilliant one it was!

It’s written so beautifully yet almost sporadically like Alice’s mind. I was captivated and couldn’t stop reading.

Alice’s mental state is clearly very unhinged and she’s a very unwell individual who hasn’t recovered from an event she classes as the end of her life (during school). She holds onto grudges and simply cannot move on from past.

Somehow, Emma made me feel sorry for Alice by the end of the book. She was so desperate to be loved the way she wanted and felt she deserved. However, she was absolutely terrifying in the ways she managed to worm her way into Tom’s life. It was frightening to read her thought process and beliefs towards him. Emma is able to brilliantly write about an unwell mind whilst maintaining a storyline. I truly
Believe her writing style in this book is done in a way to match Alice’s thought process.

Psychologically thrilling yet unnaturally unnerving; I couldn’t put it down.

This Immaculate Body is a story of obsession, of the way women view the world and the ways that the world views them. As Alice frantically tries to cling to an imagined future with Tom, the line between fantasy and reality become ever more blurred, putting everything she has dreamed of at risk.

"This Immaculate Body" really got me, thanks to the first-person narrative, as a portrait of someone whose unaddressed mental health struggles progressed to full-blown delusions that led to actions of serious consequences to others. Emma van Straaten very skilfully presented defence mechanisms that occur in such cases as Alice's, with the sentence alongside the line "this is how a memory is formed" at the end of falsified chain of events that helped the protagonist feel less guilty about the consequences of her actions that involved a vulnerable person.

It was a deeply uncomfortable read, in the best way possible.