I enjoyed reading this but throughout I was thinking why is a supposedly independent woman happily giving up everything and being dependent on this man. I do feel for her as I have been in a coercive relationship myself, but there comes a time when you think - hang on a minute. There is no doubt that he was a master manipulator and she was possibly just in a place where she needed someone to take over. It does seem odd that she wasn't wanting to co=operate with the police and she wasn't making things easier for herself. I would be interested to read a psychologist's account of her behavior.

A true story that is hard to read as its not a pleasant one however I found myself morbidly fascinated with it.

Dark and difficult to read but only because of the content.

A good book

I really enjoy this book, I think that the author is extremely brave to share her story and expose herself in such as honest way. The book very much provides a warning about how easy it is to get caught up with people who mean to manipulate us, and also how many of the red flags that we can miss especially when emotions are involved. I read the book quickly and was gripped by the story, I laughed and I cried, I was shocked and felt disbelief along with the author. This is a must read for anyone, and is a reminder for us all that there is evil out there and it has a human face. Thank you for sharing the story Carolyn I wish you security and happiness now.

This is a hard book to review as the true story is undoubtedly fascinating and it was interesting to compare details with the news reports online. Unfortunately, I found that the structure of the book - with the con revealed at the beginning in a prologue - was detrimental to the main character/author. It robs the reader of the chance to meet Mark Conway and take him at face value without the benefit of hindsight; a crucial question that the reader wants to ask is, 'would I have fallen for his lies?" It is impossible to answer that question when the reader has been given foreknowledge of his crimes. In any case, it is an extraordinary story and warning to us all.

I was excited to read this book. I wanted to know more about the whole thing. However i cant help but feel a little flat, its not a non fiction book i would be rating to others unfortunately. I wanted to like it but i struggled

A true story which I couldnt put down. Enjoyable is not the correct word for this book but it certainly captured my attention. I lost count the number of times I shook my head in disbelief. I find it hard to put into words without sounding judgemental but it certainly gave the fictional psychological thrillers I normally read some stiff competition.

What an extraordinary book, I was gripped and astonished from the first page to the last, but at the same time I was in turn angry, upset, disgusted and then angry again; by the horrific way this evil man behaved, how he manipulated, lied, cheated and played upon the emotions of many people.
My heart goes out to Carolyn, who is clearly a bright, strong, intelligent and independent person, it is clear how his skilled manipulation worked in hindsight, he had enough practice, but playing somebody like he did is sickening, and her experiences of the investigations and justice system is harrowing, it reminded me of what the Dowler family suffered in Gemma Dowlers' book, and makes one question how the justice system could be changed.
It is also very true that Carolyn was judged in a misogynistic way, but it is human nature to want to trust, and believe what one wishes of somebody one likes.
Reading this account of course makes you wander how you can be taken in, but in Carolyns' shoes I suspect we may all have been, I am now going to watch the Sky documentary mentioned about this case.
An astonishing, engrossing and unforgettable read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins.

I wasn’t sure what to make of this as I had seen Carolyn on the follow up on This Morning.

We all think how can you fall for that but it is so much harder standing in that persons shoes.

Carolyn comes across as a lovely lady and very independent which makes the reader ask ‘how?!!’

There are those that we meet in life that we think are trustworthy but end up being far from it.

It is easy to say you must have known something when not stood in their shoes.

I enjoyed this book, It’s written very well. Enjoyed seems the wrong word to use but I was pleased ‘sort of’ with the result and how fabulous Carolyn, her daughters and some older and new friends were.

I can’t believe the earlier reports to the police. Hopefully things have now moved on but I would say stop cutting the policing budgets. It’s a disgrace that they can turn around and say they don’t have time to investigate. People do not involve the police lightly.

I hope Carolyn, you are living a happy life and Mark is no longer preying on innocent women and men.

Very good read.

I've always been of the belief that I would never fall for a con man. This story gave me cause to believe otherwise. Its a scary thought how easily Carolyn got sucked in.

I am almost reluctant to say that I enjoyed this book, as it is deals with the author's misfortune, but I couldn't put it down. It is an almost unbearable account of her relationship with a devious psychopath, which almost defies belief. Sadly such cases are still happening, but this is an excellent account, and warning!

The first thing I thought when I started reading this book was "how can this woman be so gullible"

It baffles me, But I guess it could happen to anybody. You get the story, from the start you can feel that something is wrong (you can sense it I guess) but as an outsider, it's easy to say she should have known from the start. When you start seeing what she missed, you missed things too and then, well, it becomes more and more believable!

Very well written book, hit home for a lot of us I am sure!

** ARC provided by Netgalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ***

An interesting book which I think will ring a few bells with 'Dirty John' viewers. I feel like you see headlines about people being conned out of their money but often dismiss the victims as fools. I thought this book was great at displaying how master manipulators actually work and exactly how you end up falling for the nonsense they spout.

Whilst the author refers to being gaslighted & coerced into her decisions during this abusive relationship, which appear to be abusive behaviours she has learned about after the fact, she seems to only wish to learn about things that directly impact her. She has a go at the #metoo movement., why? Her dealings with police officers on her case were supposedly showing their lack of action, however, the author came across as difficult to deal with with a superiority complex. It makes the book hard to rate as it was good in some parts and irritating in others.

My heart goes out to Carolyn for all she went through and how brave she was to stand up and ensure Mark was held accountable plus writing this very hard hitting book.

I couldnt put this book down, kept thinking how can this woman beleiev everything but i suppose in a moment of love and passion we do. A gripping easy read x

I've just finished this book and I have mixed feelings on it. I felt as though it was really a book of two halves and I find myself with different opinions on the beginning and the end.

The first half of the book, I really liked. Carolyn told her story well and, as heartbreaking as it was, I very much enjoyed reading it. She finished each chapter with a 'summing up' of Mark's behaviour based on what she knows now, which I found interesting.

The 'story' seemed to finish halfway through however, and I wondered how there was still half a book to go. As it turned out, the second half of the book was telling the story of what happened after, with the police investigations and the court case etc. Not only was this very drawn out, it ended up giving me a completely different opinion of Carolyn. She came across as very 'elitist' and regularly implied that she better than things such as the benefits system and anti-depressants. I also found it hypocritical how she mentions MANY times in the book that she resent being called 'a divorcee', however, in the advertising for this book she calls herself
'a divorced woman'.

This meant that I finished the book with a bit of a sour feeling. I've given it 3 stars as I did enjoy it and would recommend it, I might just also recommend stopping in the middle of the book!

A true life account that serves as a reminder that not everyone are quite as they seem. Gaslighted, defrauded for thousands and spun a web of deception. A harrowing story

A true story that will make you toes curl.

Carolyn was happy and settled in life until she meets a man that sweeps her off her feet and charms her in to discussing buying a house together and getting married within weeks!

Mark is not everything he seems and this story takes a turn for the dark as his gaslighting and scamming comes to light.

I reccomend this for everyone as a warning about something that seems too good to be true.

Also a really great read

A really interesting insight into a dysfunctional relationship. Has the pace of a thriller with the authenticity and detail of true crime. The writing is plain and straightforward which I think works as the content is heightened enough.

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.

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.