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.

You never quite know what you’re going to get from David Mark, and I love that. Because you do know that whatever he offers in his stand-alone novels will be compelling reading and is bound to hold your attention right through the book. There’s richness and depth to his writing, combined with a willingness to go down whatever path the story takes, that makes each book journey a fascinating one. In Suspicious Minds, Mark beautifully portrays Liz Zahavi, a woman living with her controlling partner, Jay and enjoying her relationship with his 9 year old daughter, Anya. Liz is also living with Borderline Personality Disorder, a mental health condition which renders her behaviour unpredictable; her actions are often impulsive and she has a tendency to say what she thinks irrespective of the consequences. Liz knows, because Jay tells her often enough, just how lucky she is that Jay puts up with her. All he asks is that she tries to be a half decent homemaker. So Liz tries her best to be what she is not and makes an appointment with a therapist to appease Jay. On her way to the first appointment, nervous and unsure about what she is doing, she gets lost and muddled by the sat nav and has a car accident. A collision with a rather unpleasant local land owner leaves her distressed and upset until she is rescued by Jude, a brooding, rather good looking, local farmer. There is an immediate and instinctive spark between them and Liz becomes Betsy, a different woman to the one that Jay knows. When Liz lets Jude take over and sort everything out, she feels a strong connection to him and so when her life with Jay implodes spectacularly, it is to Jude that she turns. At this point I wondered whether Mark was going for an intense and emotional romantic drama, but with the Hardy-esque references it was always clear that this relationship was going to have an emotional intensity that would create ripples beyond their solitary existence and that proves to be the case in spades. For Jude is in the midst of a battle and Liz – or Betsy as she now styles herself – finds herself questioning whether she really knows this man at all. Her BPD causes her to second guess everything and when she hears things about Jude that cause her concern, and then she sees what he could be capable of, she begins to wonder what she has got herself into. David Mark has created a great character in Liz/Betsy. A woman whose backstory is traumatic and whose BPD means that she can never quite be sure if what she thinks is related to her mental health condition or is something else entirely. This lends an unsettling and quietly disturbing air to a woman who has so much capacity for joy and love that it is upsetting to see her setbacks caused by self-doubt. Darkness and violence enter her world with hugely distressing consequences until she does not know who to trust or whether she has made the right choice about the man she loves. Verdict: Suspicious Minds is another cracker of a book from David Mark. Dark, absorbing and edgy, this is a psychological thriller that had me wholly in its grasp, not letting go until the last page. For all that though, it’s also clear that Mark is a romantic and that pleases me no end.

34 year old Liz Zahavi, or Betsy as she now prefers to be known, has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). She has no control of her feelings, leading to impulsive behaviour, disturbed patterns of thinking and deception, and sadly, it’s causing constant rows with partner Jay. She’s desperate to hang onto Jay, she gets on really well with his daughter Anya too, and she longs to have a stable relationship, even though he shows little understanding of her illness, constantly criticises her, and controls every part of her life. In the hope that she can save her relationship, she arranges to see a private therapist, but driving to her first appointment, she loses her way, and ends up on a lonely country lane, and is involved in a collision with another car, belonging to a local and very aggressive landowner. Local farmer, Jude, comes to her rescue, and she finds she can’t stop thinking about him, he’s so different to Jay, so caring. The great news is, Jude feels the same way about her, and she leaves Jay for him. But of course, everyone has a past, secrets they prefer to bury, and Jude is no exception. Rumours abound about Jude’s violent side, and Betsy begins to question whether Jude’s wife, who was found dead in the woods 4 years ago, really died accidentally, or did Jude have a hand in it. David Mark has a pace and rhythm to his writing that sucks you right in, from the way he brings the countryside to life so vividly, his sensitivity for the landscape, to the nuances of each character. His portrayal of someone suffering from BPD, is faultless, the storyline is gripping, and, though not all the characters are likeable, they fit their roles perfectly, in this compelling psychological thriller.

Liz fights daily to keep her controlling partner, Jay, leaving her. She's recently been diagnosed with BPD - Borderline Personality Disorder. She wants to be well, to be understood, to be loved. Jay talks her into making an appointment to see a therapist, and on her way, Liz gets lost and eventually she runs off the road. Thankfully, she's not badly hurt, but she has no idea where she actually is. A local farmer, Jude, comes to her rescue. There is an instant attraction. Jude is calm, polite, in direct contrast with Jay who is anything but calm and insists on yelling at her and disparaging anything and everything she does. But Jude also has secrets. Jude's wife died alone in the woods near his home. His past is rearing up and Liza wonders exactly what this new man in her life is capable of doing. Was he responsible for his wife's death? A high level of mystery starts off the story and maintains that pacing until the surprising conclusion. Characters are solidly drawn and not all are what they seem to be. It's well written with twists and turns to keep the reader riveted. Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

An intriguing story about Borderline Personality Disorder and relationships. Liz Zahari is 33 years old, living with her partner Jay and his 9-year-old daughter Anya. She has just been given a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder and decides the time is right to try and get some counselling and help to sort out her life. Her partner, Jay, has not helped with her problems making her feel totally useless and giving her the impression that all he wants her to do is be his homemaker. Even here he gives her the impression that she is of no value and he is just putting up with her because his daughter has a good relationship with her. Liz is on her way to her first counselling session when she gets hopelessly lost and ends up being hit by another car and rescued by Jude, a man who lives nearby. Right from their first meeting Liz feels a connection with him and he is immediately attracted to her. Liz tells Jude that her name is Betsy and leaves Jay to live with Jude and start a new life. The problem with her illness is that, despite Jude being a wonderful partner, happy to deal with her problems and loving her for what she is, Betsy cannot help wondering if he is too good to be true and starts to investigate his background. Jude’s wife, Maeve, has died in mysterious circumstances and the local landowner has been trying to get Jude to sell his cottage and land, using some local thugs to persuade him. Although Jude protests his innocence, Betsy cannot seem to be able to believe him or indeed believe that she has found a partner and life that can make her happy. Throughout the book we learn more about Liz/Betsy’s childhood with her alcoholic mother and the awful abuse she has suffered. This book is very well written and tackles the problem of Borderline Personality Disorder very well, I have no personal knowledge of this but came to understand how terrible this must be for someone suffering and how difficult it must be to suspect everybody of having ulterior motives or not being who they purport to be. I have only given the book 4 stars because I found the actual storyline slightly disappointing and improbable. Otherwise a very instructive book about what I imagine is becoming a more common problem in the current climate. Dexter Elite Book Group received a copy of the book to review