Reading this book felt like coming home to familiar characters. Having read Meeting Lydia and A Meeting of a Different Kind I was confident that once again Linda MacDonald would lead me into a thought provoking path with this book. And, I was right. While The Man With The Needlecord Jacket can be read as a stand alone I highly recommend reading the other books too simply for the sheer enjoyment of reading them.

In this book we once again meet Felicity, Ted and Marianne. Life has not gone according to plan for Felicity. A liaison with a chef during what she feels must have surely been some form of midlife crisis and her husband Ted's fault, has meant she is no longer living in the family home and is now alone in a pokey flat above her restaurant with no lover and no husband. Felicity is back in the country and intent on moving straight back into her marriage to Ted, despite her indiscretions. However, while she was in Italy with her younger lover, Ted was making a life for himself with Marianne. Felicity is not happy and must find a way to endear herself with her family once again and move back into Ted's life. She sees Marianne has merely collateral damage in this plan. However, Felicity's plan goes slightly awry when she meets the charming and flirtatious Coll. An artist who wants to hang his paintings in her newly opened restaurant, Coll is an enigmatic character and Felicity finds herself drawn to him.

Coll is the type of character that you instantly dislike. He is in a relationship with Sarah but the relationship is clearly one-sided. Sarah is in love with him and they've been 'together' for a very long time. Coll uses Sarah whenever it suits him, not committing in any shape or form to the relationship and coming and going as he pleases. Sarah is even aware that he collects 'Other Women' like other men collect stamps! The fact that he takes them out and nothing more is purely innocent in Coll's eyes and he has no thought for Sarah's feelings. Coll becomes slightly obsessed with Felicity and Sarah can feel the life she has with him, such as it is, slipping away.

What I loved about this book is that many people will be able to relate to the character of Sarah so well. I was drawn to her and wanted to scream at her to walk away from this selfish and self serving man. However, Sarah is clearly someone who after suffering from the loss of her first husband does not wish to find herself alone and lost again and Coll is better than nothing. She's been with him so long that she is mistaking habit for love.

This book is excellent at exploring human relationships and the human psyche with regards to those relationships. I simply love the fact that the characters are not 20 something beautiful people but middle-aged, scared and feeling that the future is not as well mapped out as they once thought it was. Linda MacDonald has explored the complexities of human relationships beautifully and I found this to be a really thought provoking book. Highly recommended!

This book was such a breath of fresh air, something a little different, and such an enjoyable read. Silly of me really, but I was expecting something rather more earnest and less accessible – and, I must be honest, the book’s title did reinforce my totally wrong impression. I didn’t even know I loved reading about “the psychology of relationships” – but I most certainly do!

Because what the author does so very well is to lay before us real people – people we recognise, who behave as real people do. And real people sometimes behave badly, make you shake your head in disbelief, sometimes drive you to the moral high ground when you disapprove of their actions, and sometimes make you feel very uncomfortable when you see them making mistakes you might well have made yourself. They experience self doubt, disappointment and heartbreak – and moments of sheer joy. This book captures it all, wrapped around a fascinating story – no massive fireworks, just life and relationships presenting opportunities and challenges that the characters negotiate and deal with in their own ways.

The characterisation in this book is quite exceptional – my heart bled for Sarah as she desperately poured love into her relationship with little return, and Felicity became my very best friend as she wrestled with the life-changing consequences of her earlier actions, the complexities of moving on, and coming to terms with the changes that have damaged her foundations.

"I was married for thirty-odd years, but now I am an outcast of the family group, wandering the periphery like the meerkat who misbehaves, snatching moments of solace with those whom I love, and then scuttling off into the night to hide in my flat, often alone and mostly sad."

As for Coll… some of his actions made me gasp, and I loved the book’s construction in that the reader always knows rather more about what’s going on than the people directly involved. I always enjoy reading about rather older characters who have more depth and have lived a little – although this book is 100% a stand alone read, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t discover them sooner through the author’s earlier books.

And I really must mention the strength of the writing – smoothly readable, easy to lose yourself in the story, humour and outrage sitting comfortably side by side. One of the joys of reading on the kindle is the ability to highlight passages you’d like to revisit later, for those moments when you’re struck by some thought or expression – I’ve rarely used the function as much, because there were so many times that small observations or comments so perfectly summed up what life can really be like.

"I have often thought that life seems to deal out good times and bad times in batches rather than a mix of the two. I hear people say, ‘And as if that wasn’t enough…’ or, ‘Just when you think things can’t get any worse…’ The trajectory of life is rarely a ripple; more often a mountain range of peaks and troughs."

I often say that for a book to really impress me it needs to engage my emotions, win my heart, and move me – but I’m always rather pleased when it engages my brain a little too. This delightful book delivered on every level – Linda MacDonald is an author I’ll most definitely be seeking out again.

From the odd title I knew this was going to be a little different. Loved the traumatic rollercoaster of "mature" dating, moving on after separation, and the very well-written portrayal of emotional abuse. Great complex characters - the eternal bachelor Coll, the self-centred Felicity and the vulnerable Sarah.

It is part of a longer series of books, but totally stands on its own - I have not read any of the others but I plan to go back to the first one now.

The first thing about this book that attracted my attention was the title. Immediately I started to wonder who this man was in his needlecord jacket.

That man is Coll, named after the Scottish island, not short for Colin. In his 50s, he is one of those men who comes to life around a woman he feels 'gets him'. Felicity is one of those women but his poor long-suffering partner of 10 years, Sarah, doesn't seem to be anymore.

Although Coll is the character around which the story revolves, it's told from the points of view of Felicity and Sarah. It's very much a character-driven tale with little plot as such. It's a slice of life story, covering the short time after Coll meets Felicity. I liked Felicity in many ways but I found her to be quite selfish at times. She's strong and goes for what she wants (even when that means breaking up her 30 year marriage to a good man). She's a restaurateur and a mother. But I liked Sarah more for her kindness and her patience even if I did want to shake her sometimes for her seeming devotion to a man who calls her a liability! They were two quite different female characters and I liked the contrast between them.

I found this to be a fascinating read. Being a character-driven book means the characters have to deliver and they do here. I found I could imagine each one very well, how they would behave and speak. The two women do a good job of describing Coll too, essentially a weak man who thinks highly of himself and to be honest has few redeeming features.

I cared about the female characters. Sarah and Coll visit Venice and without giving anything away, I felt Sarah's emotions so strongly during their trip. I was also pleased with the ending which I thought was just right.

I was happy when I got to the end to find out that some of the characters feature in Linda MacDonald's other books. I really liked this one and it grew on me more and more as I read on. It kind of crept up on me - a quiet book which had a real impact on me. There's a lot of empathy in the writing. This is a look at the psychology of relationships, how we can hurt each other and how selfish we can be sometimes. It's a brilliant look at human nature at its best and worst. I loved it.

The man in the needlecord jacket is a selfish self centred man!
I haven't read any of Linda MacDonalds books before, some of the characters in this book have featured in previous books and if I had read these maybe I would have known more about what they had gone through, but I don't think I enjoyed the book any less for not reading these as this can definately be read as a standalone.
The main characters are Sarah, Felicity and Coll. Sarah gas been in a relationship with Coll for over a decade and in that time he has never truely committed to her having been divorced once already. Sarah was happily married, thinking of having kids when her husband died and Felicity left get husband and four kids to run off with her chef, that didn't last.
Coll meets Felicity and is obsessed by her and this story follows the lives of the two women and how Coll tries to play each of them off against each other. The story is told in alternating chapters from a first person prospective, which I like in this book. I think both women grew better within themselves as the story progressed but Coll got on my nerves, he acted almost childlike in his behaviour he showed in the relations he had with both women.
I enjoyed this book and will try to read the other books that feature these characters.
I would like to thank netgalley and troubador publishing, matador for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

My background in the field of Psychology seems to always pull me towards books that stir up that part of my life. Linda MacDonald has no short of themes from the mental health spectrum woven throughout her novel to challenge your perspectives on human behavior which include: emotional abuse, narcissistic personality, destructive relationships and infidelity via an emotional affair rather than the typical physical aspect. She did a fantastic job of pulling into the light those aspects of human behavior most want kept in the darkness so you are forced to confront your own attitudes on the subjects or even wonder if you aren't mimicking some of her characters behaviors in your own life???

I liked that you are treated to an intense look into the lives and psychological viewpoints from two very different women throughout this storyline. MacDonald really fleshed out her characters in order to make her point and it was obvious she spent some time understanding the subjects she planned to use as plot devices so you felt grounded in reality. That also caused its own share of problems as you will find your own emotions challenged thanks to her vivid writing.

People who like to have their brains challenged while reading a good fictional story or are interested in a thought provoking examination of dysfunctional relationships will be pulled towards as it digs into your psyche and hooks you to the end.

The Man In The Needlecord Jacket is a dark look into the psyche of two different women.

Felicity's failed marriage and her attempt to be happy contributes to Sarah's world falling apart. Both women are floundering and don't really grasp the depths they are being controlled by the man in their life.

This book is very thought provoking and hits close to home for many.

The Man in the Needlecord Jacket, Linda MacDonald

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, General Fiction,(adult). 

Well. I love romance, saw this and was intrigued but.....to me this Isn't Romance. Romance for me is lovers, twists, dramas, upheavals, and this book has all that but it doesn't have a HEA, or even a HFN and to me one of those is essential for a book classed as a romance read. 
That said it's a story I very much enjoyed, made me do a lot of that "what if" thinking, look at things from the position of each character. 

I hadn't read the author's other books which feature characters from this one, and maybe if I had I'd feel differently about Marianne, Ted and Felicity. 
I may have been more sympathetic to Felicity, when we first met her. As it is I found her strange, very out for herself. She'd left Ted to be with her lover, and yet she's irritated that he's found someone to replace her, disparaging about Marianne, irritated that she's spending time with Ted in the family home, cross when they both spend time in Marianne's London home.

Then she meets Coll, and its as if she likes the attention, is flattered and is using him as a place warmer, waiting to see if she can displace Marianne and get her position back with Ted.
She seemed to me very shallow, expected everything to go back as before she left to move abroad with her lover, she left without caring about them, now she's back she wants it all to carry on as if she hadn't gone, as if those months had just been a kind of limbo for everyone else.. We do see her lighter side though, and maybe her attitude is one shaped by recent events and not a true look at her.
I did warm to her over time, did come to understand her better, and at the end I respected her and what she did. 

Sarah, I felt she really drew the short straw. Ten years "with" Coll, each having separate homes and their relationship revolving solely around what he wants.
Her first husband died, when they were still deeply in love and she really wants to find that again, seemed like she had when she first met Coll. However he's slowly eroded her confidence to the position when she seems to think its OK for him to have other women, (OW she calls them) as she knows its all flirting on Coll's part, and nothing serious would come of it. Then he meets Felicity, and everything changes. 

Coll, I hated that man and yet I could see what he was so attractive to women. He's decent looking and cultivates an air of mystery, the Bohemian artist type, and is very careful what he says about himself and his life. What he does do so well is encourage the OWs to talk about themselves, leaving it open for him to listen carefully, to flatter, to encourage, to sympathise until they hang on his every word. 
He made me so angry the way he was so careful not to tell Felicity about Sarah.....I wanted to shout at Sarah "Follow him, Check his phone, ask him outright." To Felicity i wanted to say "ask more, questions why he hasn't/doesn't seem to have has a relationship since his divorce over a decade ago." But of course they don't and the story rolls on to its climax. 
I so felt for Sarah, she knew but was kidding herself. She realised Felicity was more than the usual Ow, a real threat this time. And Coll, he just wouldn't see what he was doing was wrong, belittled Sarah in subtle ways, didn't stop to think of how hurt she would be about what he says. All the way through he only ever looks at how events affect him, and some of the things he says to Sarah I could strangle him, choke him, I was so angry.  Dammit he's a book character! How can I get so angry about one of those ;-) but I do. Testament of good writing the the world and characters that are fictional feel so real.

The ending kind of soft, subdued, unfinished to me, there's not real conclusion and overall from everything I think Sarah is the one who lose most, I really felt for her. She'd done nothing but fall in love with a charismatic but shallow, selfish man.  
Stars: five,not a romance, but an interesting and absorbing read none-the-less. Not a rereader but a full 5* story despite that. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers