The Circle

Writing under the pen name of Jessica Aitken, she is now a successful author of crime novels set in Glasgow. On the outside she is confident and friendly but the legacy of neglect by alcoholic parents and the trauma she suffered at the age of fourteen have left their mark. Shortly after ending yet another relationship that hasn’t worked for her, she joins a therapeutic knitting circle and embarks on a new affair, hoping this one might be different. Over the next few months, she is subjected to on-line bullying and blackmail, which drives her to self-soothe with alcohol and leaves her fearing for her sanity.

When a body is discovered bludgeoned to death in her apartment and she is nowhere to be found, the police must investigate if she too is a victim or if she is the perpetrator.

This psychological novel reflects how our actions can have consequences even after twenty-five years and cleverly knits together the connections of the characters in the book with Jessica’s past. It takes place in the context of the contemporary issues of cyber bullying, coercive control and the #MeToo Movement.

What readers say about this book

***** An enjoyable read

What a superb read. The author’s use of first person helped give insight to the main character’s thoughts and reasonings and third person for secondary characters helped give more attachment to the main character. I don’t want to say anything to give the story away, but it was well paced – with excellent turns and twists as the story developed. I couldn’t put it down. I could see this would work well adapted for television. I can’t wait to read more from this author. Voracious Reader

***** Surprising

I really enjoyed this book. I struggled at the beginning to remember all the characters but they soon became familiar and memorable. The twist at the end was a real surprise and I liked the location of the west end of Glasgow. Daisy99