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The Bed I Made |  | Author: Lucie Whitehouse
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
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Seller: parrots_books
Rating:  48 reviews
Sales Rank: 538
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1408809133
EAN: 9781408809136
ASIN: 1408809133
Publication Date: June 21, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When Kate meets a dark, enigmatic man in a Soho bar, she doesn't hesitate long before going home with him. There is something undeniably attractive about Richard - and irresistibly dangerous, too. Now, after eighteen exhilarating but fraught months, Kate knows she has to finish their relationship and hopes that will be the end of it.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 48
 Brilliant Thriller! March 2, 2010
Dot (UK)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
The Bed I Made is just as tense and atmospheric as Lucie's previous book but I would say that this one has a much darker and more dangerous edge to it.
One fateful night, Kate meets Richard in a Soho bar and they begin a reckless and intense relationship. However, eighteen months later we follow Kate as she flees the familiarity of her London life for the obscurity of a rented cottage on the Isle of Wight. It is winter on this tiny island and Kate finds herself extremely isolated. She learns about the disappearance of local woman, Alice Frewin who many suggest has taken her own life. Kate is drawn to Alice's story, it almost provides a distraction yet she still cannot escape the clutches of Richard who has not given up on finding out where she has escaped to.
Lucie Whitehouse begins building the chilling atmosphere from the first page of the book. The story builds slowly like the fog that rolls in and envelops Kate's cottage on the island. We begin to gain an understanding of why she is so frightened of this man who she had once loved and admired. There were times when I did not want to read on as I was frightened as to what was lurking around the next corner but I could not stop myself from turning the pages.
Critics have compared Lucie Whitehouse to Daphne Du Maurier and I believe that this is a fair assertion, even more so after reading this second book. Through her clever use of language, Whitehouse creates a chilling and sinister atmosphere as she gradually builds up the suspense. Words carry a lot of power throughout the story. Other than Kate's memories, Richard's main presence is via text messages and emails that she receives whilst on the island. He uses few words but the power that they have over Kate is terrifying and you get a real sense of the oppressive fear that she is experiencing.
Lucie Whitehouse has created a perfect thriller. The Bed I Made grabs you from the very first chapter; it is not one to be missed but certainly not one that I would recommend reading just before you turn the lights off!
Atmospheric thriller March 23, 2010
Damaskcat (UK)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful
This book grabbed my attention from the first page. I wanted to understand why Kate had moved to the Isle of Wight and why her relationship with Richard had broken up. I also wanted to know what had happened to the owner of the boat who went missing at the start of the book. Kate is an English/French translator and when her stormy relationship with Richard comes to an end she decides to move to the Isle of Wight because she had spent happy holidays there as a child. What follows is an atmospheric thriller in which Kate finds it is not as easy as she thought to say goodbye to Richard. Interspersed with her current life - working on her translations - becoming friendly with the islanders - working in a café, she is plagued by e-mails and phone messages from Richard which get more and more threatening and sinister.
Almost to take her mind off her own situation, Kate finds herself increasingly interested in finding out what happened to Alice Frewin - the lady whose abandoned boat was recovered at the start of the book. She gets to know Alice's husband, Peter Frewin and his friend Chris, who runs a second hand bookshop, and starts to feel as though she would like to stay on the island; but Richard has not finished with her yet and Kate needs to deal with the loose ends from her previous life before she can start to rebuild.
The writing is subtle and understated and all the more frightening because of it. The relationship with Richard is revealed gradually throughout the book as his e-mails become more sinister. I thought the way Richard was portrayed was very well done showing how his actions could always have more than one interpretation and how his charm worked its magic on Kate so that she believed everything he told her, to the extent that she almost destroyed her friendship with her best friend - Helen.
I also found the way Kate's growing friendships with people on the island were developed was convincing. The build-up of the tension to the frightening climax of the novel was superb and kept me reading. I wanted Kate to be all right and I wanted things to work out for her friends. I loved the way the Isle of Wight itself played such a part in the story. But this is not the benign summer holiday place that the tourists see; it is the island in winter with storms and high seas, where the life of anyone who tries to do battle with the elements is always at risk. This is a very satisfying novel and deserves to do well in my opinion.
Gripping, dark and sinister August 4, 2010
Denise4891
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The story centres around Kate's retreat from her abusive relationship in London to a remote town on the Isle of Wight, a place which brings back happy holiday memories from an otherwise lonely childhood. At first she just wants to hide away from the world, but her obsession with the disappearance of a local woman leads to her gradual integration into the close-knit island community. Meanwhile in the background she is tortured by increasingly threatening communications from her ex, Richard, full of vitriolic rage at her decision to end their relationship and escape his brutal clutches. As another of his victims tells Kate: "No-one leaves Richard; he leaves them. He decides".
Snippets from Kate and Richard's life together are revealed as the book progresses and you get a real sense of the power and control he wielded over her, slowing inveigling himself into her life until she became emotionally dependent upon him. The tension mounts as Richard's threats become increasingly dark and sinister, leading to a slightly predictable but very exciting climax.
I've never been to the Isle of Wight but I feel like I have now! There are some beautiful descriptions of the rugged coastline, as well as the desolate, faded grandeur of deserted seaside towns in mid-winter, all adding to the dark, menacing tone of the narrative.
I'm quite surprised that this book is being promoted as a `Summer Read' because it's pretty bleak at times, very descriptive and has a distinctly `wintry' feel. There are a couple of comments on the back cover likening it to the work of Maggie O'Farrell and Daphne du Maurier (two of my favourite authors) and I was very sceptical about this at first, but it's actually not far off the mark! There are definite echoes of O'Farrell's earlier books (After You'd Gone and The Distance Between Us) and the stormy coastal location and damaged, brooding heroine would not be out of place in a du Maurier novel.
I was one of the few who wasn't keen on Lucie Whitehouse's debut novel, The House At Midnight, so I wasn't planning to read this one but I'm really glad I did as I found it a compulsive, very atmospheric read.
Utterly gripping February 8, 2010
Sukie (South Coast)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I can't remember the last time I felt as gripped by a book as I did with The Bed I Made. Right from the start you are sucked in to Kate's world - curious to know what has made her flee London for the anonymity of the Isle of Wight, and becoming increasingly anxious for her safety there. As the back-story unravels, and more is discovered about her sinister ex, Richard, so does the sense of menace develop, and the plot rattles headlong to an inevitable climax.
The writing is fantastic - the scenes are very visual and 'filmic', and I could imagine everything perfectly thanks to the rich, descriptive language that Lucie Whitehouse uses. I found myself thinking about the characters whenever I wasn't reading the book, anxious to get back and discover what would happen next. I loved the setting too - the melancholy quietness of the island is the perfect backdrop for Kate's turbulent state of mind.
The only thing I wasn't totally convinced by was the Alice thread - I just wasn't sure that a woman in Kate's frightened, panicking state would make such a strong connection with Alice on her arrival at the island. But this is only a small quibble and I am still giving the book five stars because it's such a gripping, haunting read; a book that gets right under your skin. Wonderful!
A Dark but Fabulous read January 10, 2010
Milly Johnson (S Yorkshire)
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I'm not in the habit of reviewing people's work who I know personally, because the 'biased' accusation is just too easy to cast and believability status is reduced, but I'm taking a chance and making an exception with this one because it's a fabulous read and I feel very strongly about recommending it.
The title gives the perfect indication what this book is all about - I shan't spoil the surprises, especially as I didn't see them coming and wouldn't want to ruin things for other readers, but making one's bed and having to lie on it sums things up completely. I found the characters beautifully drawn: flawed, realistic, hypnotic and chilling - but always believable. And, for anyone who wants to see a master of language at play, read the descriptive passages in this book and weep.
Best read when you are in the mood for a book that pulls you in slowly so you don't see the hooks sinking into you. Dark, sexual, scary with a great plot. And, thank goodness, with no 'arty farty' 'what the hell happened?' ending.
I enjoyed it very very much and would have no hesitation in saying 'read this book if you fancy the blurb'. My kind of book!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 48
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