Psychopaths Anonymous by Will Carver

Some of you may have noticed I have been quite quiet in recent weeks. Unfortunately, events have overtaken me a bit lately, leaving little time for reading and blogging. But back to business today.

I'm always excited to see a new book from Will Carver because I never know what to expect but I do know it'll be exciting. I'm delighted to share my review of Psychopaths Anonymous as part of the blog tour. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. Can't wait to buy a paperback copy to add to my collection!

The Blurb

When AA meetings make her want to drink more, alcoholic murderess Maeve sets up a group for psychopaths.

Maeve has everything. A high-powered job, a beautiful home, a string of uncomplicated one-night encounters. She’s also an addict: a functioning alcoholic with a dependence on sex and an insatiable appetite for killing men.

When she can’t find a support group to share her obsession, she creates her own. And Psychopaths Anonymous is born. Friends of Maeve.

Now in a serious relationship, Maeve wants to keep the group a secret. But not everyone in the group adheres to the rules, and when a reckless member raises suspicions with the police, Maeve’s drinking spirals out of control. She needs to stop killing. She needs to close the group. But Maeve can’t seem to quit the things that are bad for her, including her new man…

Will Carver returns with the electrifying and original Psychopaths Anonymous, a scathing, violent and darkly funny thriller about love, connection, obsessions and sex – and the aspects of human nature we’d prefer to hide.

Psychopaths Anonymous is out on November 25th and is published by Orenda Books.

My Review

Well, Maeve is quite a handful, I can tell you! I wouldn't want to cross her, blimey! 

Maeve is attending a variety of AA meetings when we meet her. The twelve step programme isn't really working for her, though. The first thing she does after work is pour a glass of wine and the first thing she does after an AA meeting is pour a glass of wine. Unless she's found someone to have sex with, in which case she'll do that whilst drinking. But she attends more and more meetings and the programme inspires her to start a group herself, but this one's not for alcoholics... As well as being a heavy drinker and lover of casual sex, she's also a killer. One with no regrets. 

I couldn't help but like Maeve. I normally struggle to engage with characters who have no empathy but there's something about Maeve and the way Carver has written her. There's a (very) dark humour running throughout the book and I couldn't help smiling at some of the situations she found herself in. I liked that she is fearless and unapologetic for her behaviour and actions. Having said that, she is also very chilling. I don't know how much research the author did but  inside Maeve's head  - the book is written in the first person - is a very uncomfortable place to be. She feels nothing, with one notable exception she's completely emotionless. I was going to say she just does the things that make her happy, but I'm not sure she'd know what that was. She has adapted and knows how to behave when she has to, at work, for instance, but otherwise... She's absolutely fascinating. And very frightening. 

Seth is an interesting character. A seemingly regular guy, there is something about him that attracts Maeve, and causes her to feel emotion, or something akin to it, anyway. I loved watching their relationship develop, seeing Maeve guess at how someone behaves in a relationship,  but can't help feeling just a little anxious for Seth...

The first half of the book sees Maeve working through some of the steps in the AA recovery programme and the second half, putting new steps in place for her and the other attendees of her Psychopaths Anonymous group. And what a collection of guys they are. I love that all we see if them is all that they share in a meeting. We don't know their real names or what they do (in some instances), their background or their full level of psychopathy is. Carver leaves us to wonder at this... But we see Maeve carrying out her version of the programme step which says (paraphrasing here) 'make amends with anyone you have harmed.' She had an interesting take on it. 

As I've come to expect from Will Carver, this is quite an angry book, although written in a less in-your-face style than Nothing Important Happened Today. He rails against organised religion, society in general and social media, which is clearly something he feels strongly about. It's also violent, I mean, we are talking about psychopaths here! And while some of the violence is 'off screen', much of it is in your face.

Psychopaths Anonymous is a hard book to review, as Will's always are! It's dark, angry, funny and violent. And it's challenging. Maeve exhibits characteristics and behaviours that most people don't. Do we not have that side to us, or do we just keep it hidden. Something to ponder... Brilliantly written, it's a book that makes you think. Really think. I re-read sections, not quite believing what I'd just read! And, as always, I can't help but wonder what else lies in the dark recesses of Will Carver's mind! Loved it. 

The Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Will’s latest title published by Orenda Books, The Beresford was published in July. His previous title Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize, while Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Good Samaritans was book of the year in the Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.