From reading the blurb this book sounds like a drama about quarrelling couples, potential deceit and the strength of friendship, but it is so much more than that and it took turns I never expected.
Set in Stansfield, the book tells of the lives of two married – seemingly perfect – couples, Carly and Rob, and Jenni and Craig. Best friends for years, so close their children share a bond with one another, but being good friends doesn’t prevent betrayal. When Carly asks Rob the seemingly innocent question of ‘Who else would you go for, if you could?’, his answer is the beginning of all of their worlds falling apart.
Obsession is dark and exciting. With a sense of distrust for all the characters, your opinion on who is innocent and who isn’t changes with every page. The character development throughout is good with all character’s personalities growing and expanding before your eyes. Developing a love-hate relationship for the characters seems normal in this book
Through allowing the four main characters to narrate chapters themselves the readers are able to see deep into the mind of the characters, but with everyone having a different version of the truth, it is hard to know who to trust.
If you are a young reader or someone who doesn’t enjoy reading explicit sex scenes, then Obsession definitely isn’t for you. There were many sex scenes throughout this book, all of which went into great detail. Reading a story about betrayal and infidelity, it would be naïve not to expect a sex scene or two, but this novel was packed with them, and at times I felt the amount of detail given was unnecessary.
After reading this book I would definitely agree with my first assumption that this book is a drama rather than a thriller, however, Robson held the suspense well throughout the story. I found the writing slightly clumsy at times, with too many unnecessary descriptions clogging up the sentences. However, overall, I liked this book, and though it wasn’t perfect, or what I expected, I still enjoyed it.
Pros: There are many unexpected plot twists and you are constantly left guessing.
Cons: I found the four main characters unlikeable, therefore didn’t really sympathise with any of them. I also found there was too many references and unnecessary descriptions about Jenni’s brown eyes – no one’s eyes are that nice.
Overall rating: 3/5
Lindsay xo
Lindsay Catherine Duncan 