A good read, full of suspense, especially as we know early on what the main character is capable of.

This is the first book I've read by this author & I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm off to find more books by this author!!!!

The novel fails to captivate due to its’ repetitive and slow nature. The central theme of obsession, particularly the protagonist's fixation on another woman as her supposed soulmate, lacks the intrigue needed to engage me. The relentless pursuit to eliminate anyone significant in the soulmate's life comes off as more disturbing than compelling.
Unfortunately, the characters fail to resonate with any interest and the plotline feels derivative and annoying. The protagonist's portrayal as pathetic and antisocial doesn't lend itself to garnering any sympathy, especially when juxtaposed with her fantasies of an idealized soulmate relationship.
One of the major drawbacks is the implausibility of events aligning perfectly to facilitate the protagonist's desires. The seamless execution of her plans strains credibility and undermines the authenticity of the narrative.
Furthermore, the portrayal of the protagonist's inner thoughts as manic and disjointed adds little depth to her character and fails to elicit any empathy. The lack of consistency in character dynamics, particularly between the protagonist and her supposed best friend, further detracts from the overall coherence of the story.
In summary, The Soulmate falls short of delivering a compelling narrative due to its uninteresting characters, and implausible storyline. Ye friendship lacks depth to warrant such an obsession and just the protagonist looking for someone to take care of her and her neediness.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. What an interesting spin on the stalker trope. This story was so creepy and I loved it! The characters were so well done and the story grips you until the end. Lots of twists and turns.

The Soulmate by Iain Maitland was the first novel I’ve read by this author and I did not know what to expect.........I loved it! from the very first few pages it gripped me till the end of this book, especially as it was full of twists and turns throughout and had me turning the pages to find out what happens next! WoW - just Brilliant!

The story is told from the perspective of Sharon, a 62 year old woman who hasn’t had much luck in life and Pippa, who is a lovely 40 something year old woman, who joins a local book club that Sharon is a part of. When Sharon lays eyes on Pippa she knows there is an instant connection between them both.........when they make eye contact book club discussion........and then the story begins.
What a book this was, I loved it...........

I highly recommend this book and the cover was very striking and eye catching!

Big Thank you to NetGalley, Iain Maitland, and Inkubator Books for my ARC in exchange for a review.

Story of a creepy woman who latches onto someone, becomes obsessed with the person,, goes to any means to get close to the person, including murdering people who get in her way.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'The Soulmate' by Iain Maitland.


Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Iain Maitland and Inkubator Books.


Publication date 15th October 2023.


This is the second book I have read by this author. I have also read the first book in the Bloomfield & Palmer series The Wickham Market Murder which I would also highly recommend.

'The Soulmate' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Iain discusses/includes domestic stalking, child abuse and sexual assault of a minor.


This novel consists of a prologue, 24 chapters and an epilogue set over three parts which are all dates and timed individually which I thought was a fantastic idea!! The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


OMG!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE ,LOVED THIS BOOK, AN ABSOLUTELY HEART RACING, GRIPPING, SUSPENSE FILLED CREEPY PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER THAT WILL HAVE YOU HOOKED AND ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT THROUGHOUT!!!



This book is extremely well written with vivid and evocative descriptions that really put you in the storyline, feeling the hair on your arms raise and putting you on the edge of your seat!!!



This book has absolutely everything you could ask for in a psychological thriller and so much more!!! If you love a good book or are a fan of psychological thrillers then you just have to grab your copy of this true page turner today!!!! I absolutely loved this addictive, explosive, creepy, humourous and dark page turner!!! I honestly loved absolutely everything about it from the characters to the settings it was just one heck of an amazing read!!! If you love crime, thrillers, suspense, well do you know what if you love reading then grab a copy of this book today and you will not regret it!!! It has got to be one of, if not the best psychological thrillers that I have ever read!!! I LOVE the fact that although this book is dark and is a psychological thriller it is also ram packed with humour, mostly twisted humour, but definitely my type of humour and it lightened the atmosphere throughout!!!! Filled with suspense, murder, friendship, family, mystery, twists and so much more this book is an absolutely explosive and epic book in what promises to be an addictive must read series!! I absolutely love ,love, LOVED the unique storyline!! I have read so many books that it is getting harder and harder for me to find a truly unique plot but Iain absolutely smashes it out of the park with this one!! I picked it up and even though I kept telling myself just one more chapter I just could not put it down as every time I went to something happened which meant I had to read just one more again until I ended up reading it in one sitting having been glued to my kindle for a few hours!! Iain's evocative writing skills and descriptions really brought the storyline to life and I just cannot wait to get hooked into another book by this absolutely epic author!!! This book will suck you in and keep you gripped in the pages until your thrown out at the end with a racing heart!!


Clear your schedules before turning a single page as this book is truly unputdownable!!!



WATCH OUT FREDDY, JASON, CHUCKY AND THE GANG THERES A NEW PSYCHO IN TOWN BY THE NAME OF SHARON AND YOU ALL HAVE NOTHING ON HER!!!

Honestly I have never met such a creepy, psychotic and scary character in any book I have ever read and I have read books about serial killers, ghosts and hundreds of psychological thrillers but Sharon really does take the top spot of psychos!! I mean not even in just books but films too!!! She is scarily realistic and the most worrying part is that she is the friendly older lady in your book club or the stranger you chat to on a bench!!!! She really did make my skin crawl and the hairs on my arms stand on end!!! Iain has absolutely amazing evocative writing skills and made her come alive ensuring the reader is standing by her throughout her, shall we call them, adventures. I will say though that even though she is the blatant villain here that my heart did go out to her and all she went through as a child but I will end my talk about her as I don't want to give anything away. Pippa is a bit of a mixed bag for me as although I did feel for her there were also times where I just wanted to shout and shake some sense into her!!! I was completely invested in them both and was just completely unable to put the book down as I just HAD to know what was going to happen next with each of them!!! Unfortunately I can't say anymore as I don't want to ruin this amazing book for future readers and if you love a good book then that will be you!!! An absolutely fantastic selection of unique and memorable characters and, although there were some that I could not stand, regardless of how you feel about them they all worked together perfectly to create an absolutely addictive page turner!!!



This book is the BEST psychological thriller I have read this year and one of the best EVER!!! This book really is a truly unique page turner that I picked up this morning and could not put it down until I finished!!!



Well done Iain on an absolutely addictive and explosive page turner and I would definitely like to welcome you on to my top 3 favourite male author list!!! Congratulations on an absolutely fantastic success and here is to what is guaranteed to be many more 🥂




Overall an absolutely addictive, action packed suspense packed psychological thriller that will keep you turning the pages until you've devoured the book in hours!!!



292 pages.


This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £8.97 (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!


Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.


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Really enjoyed this book, with a satisfying ending. Character development was fantastic and really kept me on the edge of my seat.

This is an interesting read narrated by one of the most unlikeable characters I've ever come across, who is clearly very damaged and acts in such a way that just provokes utter misery. I didn't think this book was particularly well written, but I did see it through to the end as I wanted to know where to plot would go. I probably wouldn't recommend this, especially to seasoned thriller readers, as unfortunately I just didn't enjoy reading it.

Loves it, a great author and an even better book, never disappoints at all, hopefully I won’t have to wait too long until the next one

I liked this book but I just couldn't get into the story. I didn't like the writing style but overall the story was good.

It was ok. Sharon is truly crazy. I found nothing compelling about her. I only finished the book to see if it actually got better. Definitely not a thriller.

This was a slow burn but I always feel that was about character based plots. The writing style was good and you certainly get a lot of insight into the characters and why they're doing what they're doing. Sharon is vile, you'll hate her, a lot! She's just mental. And a complete sociopath. I'm sure I've dated men like her to a lesser extent lol. This felt a step away from my usual thrillers but I still really enjoyed it, who doesn't like reading about a crazy person who you can really hate?!

My first time reading a book by Iain Maitland and what a great treat it was. My favourite book so far this year. Kept me on the edge of my seat and I finished it in a few hours.

Sharon will stop at NOTHING to be with Pippa, absolutely nothing. They are soulmates and Sharon will do anything so that they can be together forever....

Highly recommend this book and I have added all of Iains other books to my reading list. 5☆

The Soulmate by Iain Maitland is the first novel I’ve read by this author and I immediately added others to my list upon finishing this.

The story is told from the perspective of Sharon, a 62 year old woman who hasn’t had much luck in life. An awful childhood led to a rather uneventful adulthood with very few friends or relationships. But Sharon feels the tides turn when Pippa, a lovely 40 something woman, joins a local book club that Sharon is a part of. Sharon knows there is an instant connection between Pippa and herself when they make eye contact during the book club discussion. Pippa is married to a university professor and has a teenage son which Sharon views as minor, pesky details. After all, Pippa is her soulmate and of that, Sharon has no doubt. She will stop at absolutely nothing to integrate herself into Pippa’s life. And if that means taking a life or two, so be it.

The author certainly excels at writing characters you hope get what is coming to them! Thank you NetGalley, Iain Maitland, and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to read this domestic thriller ahead of its anticipated release on September 17th in exchange for honest feedback.

This book starts out with a sinister tone as right from the beginning we see that protagonist Sharon is a clingy curmudgeon who has a crush on fellow book club member, Pippa. They become friends but another woman, Elaine seems to horn in every time the two of them have plans, forcing Sharon to rage with jealousy. But Sharon is convinced Pippa is her soulmate even though she is married and has a young son, Dom. Of course Sharon has had other "soulmates" before but each of them seemed to meet a horrible demise. And Sharon will stop at NOTHING to win Pippa's heart. So buckle up and prepare for a wild ride as Sharon is on the warpath!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Iain Maitland is a new author for me, and “The Soulmate” was a phenomenal first introduction to his work—I’ll be adding Maitland’s other titles to my queue.

I loved this book because I absolutely loathed Sharon, the main character/narrator, and was completely invested in witnessing her receive a rightful comeuppance. By having Sharon tell the story from her own perspective, Maitland provides us with an intimate glimpse into a damaged mind that is arrogant, self-righteous, volatile, and delusional—I could not wait to turn each page to find out what Sharon was going to do next.

I’m grateful to Bookouture, Iain Maitland, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this enjoyable thriller in advance of its September 17th publication date (possibly sooner--be on the lookout!).

I personally found this book a little hard to get in to however I pushed through and ended up enjoying the storyline and the ending.

The author has created an appallingly real character here and being inside her head makes for a chilling experience as a reader. The story is fast paced and gripping, with no indication of how far the protagonist will go to get the life she wants. A terrific read.

Sharon... honey, you are CRAZY. This book starts really slow, I am not sure if that is an Author choice or if that is just how this one is written. I am not crazy about the writing style of this one. I seriously struggled to finish this. However, in the end I was left with questions. The character, although thoroughly explained, was really hard for me to connect to. I am a thriller lover through and through, but I don't think this was the type of thriller that gets me going.
Thank you Iain Maitland & Inkubator Books for an ARC of this book from NetGalley.