DNF 25%
This one was so not for me which is a shame as I was really looking forward to it.
I do love a good stalker story and adore my psychological thrillers.
This wasn't either: it was more a man obsessing over and stalking his ex.
The main character here seemed to have an ASD, he struggled with day to day life and deciphering the cues us Neuro-typicals take for granted.
As a result not only is Verity his ex shes been his crutch for many years and he feels rightly or wrongly that she is the only one who gets him as a person.
He also is rather isolated due to his childhood and upbringing.
He also sees messages and cues where none have been provided.
The central character Mike droned on and on about all and everything and I was an observer the entire time just stuck in his head it got so bloody monotonous.
I was ready to throw the towel in earlier but I wanted to give it a chance to pick up; newsflash it really didnt.
The entire thing was just so very depressing and Mike was a bit of a wet weekend throughout.
For me, if the story doesn't grab my attention in the first few chapters well it usually won't.
Let me also say there was nothing wrong with the writing itself here this was well written.
I am sure there are others out there who will completely love this.
I, unfortunately, am not one of them.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Our Kind of Cruelty.

This is another book that gets you thinking, it's written in such a way that you never quite know the whole truth. I very much enjoyed this book and recommended it to a friend minutes after finishing it.
I would definitely read more by this author

I was hypnotised by the blurb! A game, a murder, a couple… I could smell the blood! However, when I began reading, I found myself at a loss. Was I reading the right book?! Yes, the game was there, yes, a couple was at its center, but the rest… Our Kind of Cruelty is a good book, I don’t deny it. I finished it and I am glad I did! But I felt wronged by a misleading synopsis. I think this is why I waited this long before deciding to review it. Now that this has been said, let’s talk about what the story holds!

Mike is a complex and intriguing character. I surprised myself agreeing with his point of view as he dug his grave lying about a relationship that is not what we expect. Am I vague enough? :p The more I read, the better I understood just how far gone Mike was, and how toxic the book itself was! That very toxicity is what makes Our Kind of Cruelty so addictive. Mike sees the world through a wish mirror, and the cracks on it don’t let him see things as they truly are. No matter his actions, I couldn’t help but feel for Mike, acting out of love… and something more! There is a fine line between love and obsession. A dangerous line that the author grabs and shakes!

If you are looking for a different kind of love story. The ‘things are going down’ kind, then please, grab a copy! You’ll be surprised, you’ll be appalled, you’ll feel pity, you’ll want to shake your head and say ‘no!’ In a nutshell, you’ll live Mike’s life and learn from it!

Unusual, original and snappilly written, it was really interesting to read a thriller from this perspective. In a crowded market, the tone and approach really stands out.

I have mixed feelings about this - I can only give it 3.5 stars because comparing it to other books I have read recently, it wasn’t as good.
Written in the first person was quite hard for me, but it was a juicy tale of obsession and more obsession.
I am also not a lover of shortened names (well one lettered ones), so I found myself getting a bit annoyed by the amount of times V was used. Well written and full of passion or weirdness however you want to view it - I recommend this, if you like your obsessive thrillers!

Mike and Verity have been together for years after meeting in their second year of university. Verity or V as Mike calls her, encourages Mike to take a job in America to further his career. It's here that a brief liaison is the catalyst for Verity to break up with Mike. When Mike returns to England he finds that Verity is to be married to Angus. Mike is distraught while Verity hopes they can be friends. Whether this is possible becomes the central question of the rest of the book.
Refreshingly, this really is a genuine psychological thriller. Mike comes from an unfortunate background which permanently damages him. We are guided through the story from his point of view. Hall ratches up the tension masterfully so that the reader is on tenterhooks for the whole book. His love for Verity is obsessive and he reads meaning into every communication with her. Because of the nature of their previous relationship, some of his behaviour is understandable. Thus the reader is actively engaged in trying to untangle what's real and rational and what's wishful thinking. Anyone who has gone through a relationship break up will identify with some of Mike's feelings, and Verity's too.
But this is more than just a relationship story. It asks pointed questions about the nature of psychological damage, about female sexuality and how society punishes women for expressing it, and the way the legal system can betray women. I really loved this genuine psychological thriller and hope to read more by this author.

This book is written in the first person and unusual in that the events are projected purely from the perspective of our chief protagonist. Mike is a multi faceted individual. On the one hand a rich, successful, intelligent university educated character with a beautiful partner successful in her own right. Equally he is a product of an abusive troubled background and although placed in loving and attentive foster care the scars and traumas of his childhood apparently forgotten, linger never far from the surface. This results in bizarre and unusual behaviour. His relationship with Verity, more than the love of his life and the very core of his existence depends on their continuation as soulmates extricably entwined in a sexual game of understanding the dare to prove the love. Written by Mike from his prison cell, the reader becomes drawn into a storyline outlining events as if on a slow moving train crash, watching a catastrophe unfold in a drama worthy of Romeo and Juliet. Would that we could ask Verity her version of events. If only Mike's version could be substantiated by a third party. The psychological machinations of the two individuals lead us into a cat and mouse game of desire, rejection and oneupmanship where the game is all that matters and winner takes all or do they. A psychological thriller, well written drawing the reader until the last page into a conclusion not only surprising but unexpected . Thoroughly enjoyed this book on all levels. Often difficult subjects sensitively handled, and a well researched court case leaving the reader perplexed until the very end.

I can see this book being made into a film - a compelling read of obsessive love - back story of Mike and Verity who in an intense relationship test things by acting out ‘crave’ ... fast forward Mike moves to New York for work and a one night stand ends their relationship. Back in the UK Mike still obsessed with V try’s to carry on without her but he can’t. Utterly gripped by this book with a great twist at the end

I really enjoyed Our Kind of Cruelty. At first I found it a little slow moving but the darkness of the story kept me reading. A tale of twisted obsession and misguided judgement told from the perspective of Mike about his love for Verity. Very emotional and chilling read. Excellent book.

I had big hopes for this book , but it just didn't quite hit them for me . It was entertaining and certainly different , and very well written , Mike and Verity have a very intense relationship , when Verity moves on and marries Angus in a whirlwind romance Mike finds it increasingly difficult to let her go , he still believes she loves him and this is just an elaborate version of a game they used to play together . I agree with another reviewer who was waiting for a twist and there was a lot of scope to incorporate this . Mike is flawed and believes that Verity still needs to be rescued , whereas the supporting characters in the book believe him to be obsessed with Verity and dangerous I still enjoyed this , 4 stars from me

5 Stars from me

Is it wrong that I felt so sorry for Mike?

Frankly these two, Mike and Verity, are both as bad as each other and although Verity does appear to end up being 'the victim' she was most certainly the instigator for a massive amount of time and pretty much created the man that Mike became.

Their 'Crave' game was dangerous and depraved and yet it turned them both on... with Verity getting as much out of it as Mike which says so much about her and what makes her tick. Would she ever have been truly happy with a man like Angus?

I don't want to give out any spoilers but let's say the necklace surprised me and made me question the truth. Maybe (definitely I guess) Mike needs some psychological help but then again maybe Verity wants to have her cake and eat it by still pressing his buttons?

Although dark and disturbing this was a fabulous and compelling read, which left me with lots of unanswered questions, which I can well see being turned into a film - I will look out for more by Araminta Hall.

I had such high hopes for this book from what I read from the blurb and prepared myself for a twisty, psychological thriller. But what I actually got was a lacklustre and pretty average story. There's no doubt that the author can write really well and I enjoyed her style of writing but I was hoping for so much more from the story and it just never came. I really feel like there was so much potential but as I got further and further throughout the book, I lost hope. There were no twists where it would have been SO easy to have some. I do understand what the author was trying to do via the courtroom scenes and the treatment of women (and I applaud this, truly) but there was so much more she could have done throughout the plot and with such strong characters to have a truly brilliant story.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

This is a very clever piece of writing. Perfect for anyone who wants a twisty-turny beach read. Better still, Our Kind Of Cruelty is so beautifully constructed that it will also appeal to readers who are looking for more than pure entertainment.

It's so easy to slip into the crisp, elegant prose on offer here. But, to begin with, I was *slightly* worried we were in the territory of something like YOU by Caroline Kepnes - which is to say, well-written, pacey, but ultimately hollow. I nearly gave up, thinking, okay, so this is really slick, and will be a big bestseller, but do I need another one of these in my life? How wrong I was! Things soon become more nuanced and, far from being a mere nihilist device to deliver violent thrills, Mike is a heartbroken anti-hero who will have you worrying not just about what he might do next, but worrying about him full-stop.

To put it another way, Our Kind Of Cruelty is the kind of read which seems increasingly rare of late. A crime novel powered by deep psychological mining of the characters and their drives and flaws, as opposed to the psychology of what scares and/or thrills readers. One for fans of Patricia Highsmith and Barbara Vine.

I am very much looking forward to what Araminta Hall does next.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me have an advance read of this novel.

This book was interesting in that we have an unreliable narrator who is a man! I am very much used to reading these kind of books from a female perspective so was great to see another side to it that said whilst it initially had loads of promise - I was left a bit disappointed. There wad no real exploration/explanation of why the characters behaved the way they did.

This is a masterclass in writing about obsession. Written in the first person, Mike describes the story of his relationship with Verity - intense, passionate and involving a game called Crave which heightens their excitement. When the relationship goes sour, we see things unravel completely from Mike’s perspective and live his interpretation of Verity’s motives.

This is an intense read. I picked it up one evening with the intention of reading a few pages and next time I looked up it was gone midnight and I was nearly half way through. It’s a true psychological thriller - don’t pick this as a light cheery read - but a very very good insight into obsession.

The cover art and the title will grab any reader. The book does not disappoint. This is a nice stalker novel that will keep you reading through the night

Wow this book is a very special kind of twisted, well the main character is. Absolutely embedded in his conviction that he knows what is best for his girlfriend and then as she becomes an ex girlfriend.

I found this story mesmerising and compelling but I was also repelled at the same time.

This was a twisted tale of obsession that had me hooked early on. The story is told entirely from Mike's point of view and to begin with it seems perfectly clear what's happening. However as the story progresses to the courtroom doubt starts to creep in, and you see how easily words and behaviour can be manipulated to fit a narrative. By the end of the book the whole story had been twisted in a terrifying way leaving you with an uneasy, sinister feeling.
I felt the story did drag on in some parts, but overall it was cleverly written, and worryingly believable. I would also recommend reading the author's afterword for further insight into the story.
Thankyou to netgalley and randomhouse uk for my ARC in exchange for my honest review

Our Kind of Cruelty is a courtroom drama and psychological thriller that focusses on a man's compulsive obsession for the woman he loves. Dark and sexy this is written by an author whose work I will read again

A true psychological thriller written solely from Mike's point of view, and reflecting on his version of his relationship with Verity. A chilling tale of obsession, dysfunction and deviance. Twisted!