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The Mistress's Revenge

Tamar Cohen

Discussion: Transworld Titles

Why we're reading this: Fatal Attraction updated for the era of Facebook: a sharp, funny, dark debut novel set in contemporary Lo…more
[close] Fatal Attraction updated for the era of Facebook: a sharp, funny, dark debut novel set in contemporary London, written as a journal addressed by a former mistress to the married lover who dumped her.

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Jun 16, 2012 Vicky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, for-review, womens-fiction

Originally reviewed at: http://www.booksbiscuitsandtea.co.uk/...

Do you know those books that start out really slowly and then, when you least expect it, they suddenly turn into something you just can’t put down? The Mistress’s Revenge is one of them. I found the first 75-80 pages a bit slow and uneventful at first and I couldn’t really get into the story. But – and I’m holding my index finger up here – having read the remaining 270 pages, I realise it’s been an inevitable part of the story and i Originally reviewed at: http://www.booksbiscuitsandtea.co.uk/...

Do you know those books that start out really slowly and then, when you least expect it, they suddenly turn into something you just can’t put down? The Mistress’s Revenge is one of them. I found the first 75-80 pages a bit slow and uneventful at first and I couldn’t really get into the story. But – and I’m holding my index finger up here – having read the remaining 270 pages, I realise it’s been an inevitable part of the story and it’s necessary for us readers to understand what happened between Clive and Sally and what their relationship was like and why it came to an end.

This long-winded start was almost like the calm before the storm – Cohen gradually builds up the tension and you cannot help being drawn into the story. Seeing Cohen’s story unfold was like watching a horror movie. You know something is about to happen and you’re afraid to watch, but at the same time you can’t help being glued to the screen, mouth open, heart pounding in your chest. I felt the same way about Sally. As the days go by, she becomes more and more obsessed and she’s getting more and more swallowed up by something like a nervous breakdown. And you can’t help wondering – how far can this go? Apparently, a lot further than I thought. For every time I thought this is it, something bad is going to happen and someone’s going to get seriously hurt, Sally still managed to sink further down into her own madness and the story still went on.

What made The Mistress’s Revenge even more interesting for me is the fact that it’s written in a diary format. After her therapist advised her to write down her feelings, Sally starts this journal to talk about her affair and what they went through with Clive. And that’s how we’re presented with the facts – through Sally’s notes. And it’s not just a simple diary, a collection of facts and events – the entire journal is addressed to Clive, almost as if she was telling all this to him. It would have been interesting to see certain parts of the story from Clive’s point of view, but I do think it really worked. It’s definitely different from everything I’ve read so far.

It’s an utterly engaging, superbly written book that kept me up until way after midnight, two days in a row. Cohen keeps you in the dark until the very last page and the ending is definitely something I would never have predicted in a million years. If you’re looking for a dark, mysterious read full of twists and turns and with a witty writing style, you’ll love The Mistress’s Revenge. ...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Jaffareadstoo rated it really liked it

For five years Sally and Clive have had a clandestine affair, but when Clive decides that the affair must end, Sally is devastated, and her erratic and unpredictable behaviour has disastrous consequences, not just on her own family, but also on Clive's wife and daughter.

I thought the that the novel succeeded in being just a little bit different. There was an element of suspense that tracked its way throughout the novel,which culminates in a pleasing conclusion.

I enjoyed it and give it 4 out of 5 ...more

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