Compulsion - Hilary Norman

...not! This is her other compulsion - the need to have! This need starts to smother her, so much so, that she comes up with a plan to get what she wants. (As this book is a thriller, you probably don't need me to tell you that her plan has nothing to do with winning the lottery!)

The book also tells the story of Alex, a young woman who has already known much heartbreak and tragedy in her life due to the sudden death of her husband. She ...
...Brighton to start afresh.

This is where the two women meet and their paths start to collide. Frankie starts working for Alex as a cleaner, but she is more interested in Alex's house than Alex herself. She is only biding her time before deciding exactly what she is ever going to do... However, unexpected events occur and suddenly Frankie requires Alex's services as a therapist and the relationship between the two changes.But Frankie ... more

I am a really big fan of the author Hilary Norman, especially if I want to scare myself witness with my bedtime reading. Having read a few of her books previously I already knew she was a master of suspense and tension, but nothing had quite prepared me for what a scary read 'Compulsion' would be. In fact when I was about three quarters of the way through, and was reading it late at night, I actually had to stop because I could hear my heart thumping so much! So, if you too like to be scared out of your skin, read on...

'Compulsion' tells the story of Frankie, a woman suffering from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) She is a fanatic about cleanliness, so much so, that her whole life is governed by it. In an ideal job for her, she works as a cleaner, but through working in all these rich ladies houses she starts to covet what they have and she has not! This is her other compulsion - the need to have! This need starts to smother her, so much so, that she comes up with a plan to get what she wants. (As this book is a thriller, you probably don't need me to tell you that her plan has nothing to do with winning the lottery!)

The book also tells the story of Alex, a young woman who has already known much heartbreak and tragedy in her life due to the sudden death of her husband. She now works as a speech therapist and has moved to Brighton to start afresh.

This is where the two women meet and their paths start to collide. Frankie starts working for Alex as a cleaner, but she is more interested in Alex's house than Alex herself. She is only biding her time before deciding exactly what she is ever going to do... However, unexpected events occur and suddenly Frankie requires Alex's services as a therapist and the relationship between the two changes.But Frankie has a dark secret and it is only a matter of time before everything unravels - unless of course she can stop it.

At the start of the book,Frankie thinks about someone called Bo a great deal. We don't know much about him but it doesn't take long to realise that he is a sinister figure from the past. The Bo references become more frequent, and you realsie it is only a matter of time before he appears - which he does! Alex is also becoming involved with a builder called Jude, and he also becomes a pivotal part of the story.

AS the story rushes on apace towards its climax, events turn very dramatic and as the reader, you don't know what to expect. I don't want to say any more about the end, only that, if this were a film you'd be hiding behind your pillow!

As I said earlier I think that Hilary Norman is brilliant at writing suspense. One way she does this is that she writes very short chapters which build up the pace and the tension. You also notice that towards the end, they get even shorter, and give you an almost breathless feeling as you are reading! The chapters also alternate between different people. The chapters that centre on Alex tend to be quite normal, and at times you almost relax into thinking that you are reading a love story! Then before you know it, you are back to Frankie with all her terrible ideas rampaging in her head, and then it's back to full blown tension. I think it's very clever how she manages to manipulate you as a reader in this way!

Also, interestingly, when the chapters focus on Frankie they tend to be written in the present tense which gives it much more immediacy. When she's obsessing over things you almost find yourself doing it with her!

The characterisation is also very good, but as is the case with all good suspense writing, only focusing on what you need to know! There is certainly a difference in the way she writes about the good characters as opposed to the bad.

I think she also writes in such a way that you are desperate to know what is going to happen next. Apart from the one time I scared myself so much that I had to stop, generally I just wanted to read on and keep turning the pages to find out what would happen next. And I was not disappointed with lots of twists and turns, rushing along to a brilliant climax.

So, this book really was a great read. I loved the suspense and the tension, but was very relieved to wake up in the morning to realise it was only a story!

The book is published by Piatkus, and the paperback with just over 300 pages has a RRP of £6.99 

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