Sleeping with a Psychopath: A real-life psychological crime thriller, the unbelievable true story. THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
A Divorced Woman. A Dangerous Man. A Devastating Affair.
‘You’re right. It is totally extraordinary. My life is like a film; you couldn’t make it up … But there’s something I have to tell you,’ he confided, as he leaned across the table towards me. ‘I’m not normal.’
Carolyn Woods was living happily in a quiet Cotswolds village when an attractive stranger abruptly arrived in her life.
Introducing himself as Mark Conway, he exuded confidence and to her surprise Carolyn quickly became captivated by this mysterious man. A rich Swiss banker (who later confessed to being a spy), he offered Carolyn companionship and introduced her to an exciting, glamorous world.
In fact, some things were so astonishing she began to question her new lover. Was all as it seemed?
The truth was even harder to believe. For a start, his real name was Mark Acklom, he was wanted by Interpol, and he was rich but for one reason only…
A true-crime story that reads like a thriller, Sleeping with a Psychopath is a blow-by-blow account of the power of manipulation and a testament to the human will to survive.
Publisher : HarperElement
Publication date : April 29, 2021
Language : English
Print length : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0008398666
ISBN-13 : 978-0008398668
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.08 x 0.87 x 7.8 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #223,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #152 in Hoaxes & Deceptions #170 in Law Enforcement Biographies #697 in Crime & Criminal Biographies
Customer Reviews: 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (2,161) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Original price was: $1,358.55.$1,272.35Current price is: $1,272.35.
13 reviews for Sleeping with a Psychopath: A real-life psychological crime thriller, the unbelievable true story. THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
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Original price was: $1,358.55.$1,272.35Current price is: $1,272.35.
Juliet –
Just wow! Must read
True crime meets psychological thriller! The best of both. Normally true crime is written by someone Involved in the case and can read more like a documentary. This is written by the victim. And if you think you would have seen the red flags? Think again. True psychopaths are that good. After reading I hope the author sells 5 million copies!
A. Wilcox –
Interesting and Recommend!
I liked the book.It’s a true story that gives you insight as to how this type of thing happens in today’s world.I had to reread a couple parts again after I finished the book as I was flabbergasted.I recently gave my book to my Psychologist friend as I am interested in her thoughts. I’ll update my review once I receive them from her.
Scarf lady –
Every 10th grader needs to read this book
An incredible true story of horror, fear, lies, and criminal behavior at its most extreme. WHO DO YOU TRUST? Think again.
Champagnedemon –
An excellent read
An extremely well written book but I honestly failed to see how someone who was supposed to be so intelligent fell for the charms of a psychopath. For me, alarm bells would have been ringing right from the very first meeting but by the end of the book I did have a great deal of sympathy for the writer and the way she was treated by the police etc. At the end of the day it just goes to show you never fully know the person you get involved with.
Jennifer –
True Crime
Have you ever fallen for someone that you really didn’t know? They said all the right things. Made you feel so special. Really special. Have you met any conmen? It’s one of the most shocking, and completely terrible life altering things that can happen to someone. And most of the time a person is to embarrassed to tell anyone. I know because it happened to me. I wasn’t free from them until they went to prison. I was one of the lucky ones.I knew very little about this Mark Richard George Acklom. I am obsessed with true crime and I started listening to this right away. The narrator Jan Cramer was great and I thought the author did a good job taking me through this heinous crime. At times its laughable how crazy it got and he always knew what to say. But I feel like we can learn from this. And I don’t think we should be so critical of her decisions. And I commend her for going after him! Shame on you Mark, it’s awful what you’ve done. I really enjoyed this and recommend it.Thanks HarperCollins via Netgalley.
Jill Truog –
I couldn’t put this book down.
I read this book in 3 days, because it was so engrossing. What could be better than true crime? ….the psychology of true crime.I would love to see this book made into a movie and have this author get richer than ever after she was defrauded by this creep.I would like to thank the author for being honest about the ugly details.
JW –
Would not recommend
Less of a psychological crime thriller and more of an unfortunate, detailed description about the abuse of an individual who was fully taken advantage of by a con man. This victim states that she had been independent and self-made prior to coming under the influence of said con-man, so it does seem odd that so many of the ‘red-flags’ –or downright disturbing queues he exhibited–went unchecked by her, as she continued to give up everything she owned, her house and basically transfer all her money to a place he could access. I mean, I’ve worked in sales before and if some guy came in to my store to buy a coat and ‘looked me intently in the eyes’ I’d ask him to leave–or if he chain smoked whilst doling out foul rants about all those around him–were these not concerning? But yet she falls under a spell of some sort. On the positive, is that I applaud her honesty, her strength when she finally ‘came to’ to fight for justice, and overall a reminder that any individual can fall prey to bad actions of others. Just not a redeeming read in my opinion, not so well written, and not quite the story as promoted…
paige dietz –
Bad
1 star is being generous. Worst book I have ever read. Don’t waste your money or time.
anastasia –
One thing I have to mention is the title of the book. Didn’t seem to be any sleeping with… He was only showing up for 10 minutes at a time (her words!) and no action! I remember telling my grand daughter when she started dating “if a guy ever asks you for money, just dump him!” It was a good read and I think why a previous reviewer said it was repetitive is because in a way it was. But because the con man kept to the same script all the time while squeezing the money and life out of her. The Police weren’t very helpful either, or sympathetic – maybe because of the amount of money she’d given him.Worth reading as it shows how an articulate intelligent woman can be taken over in a very short period of time. It should serve as a stern warning to women in similar circumstances. Keep your money!!
Music –
Good book but triggered some hidden PTSDs so buy knowing this😂
Eleanor –
This is a fascinating and disturbing book about the author’s devastating involvement with an adept and callous conman who had absolutely no conscience in taking her for every penny and more. The book is well written and I found it hard to put down. Anyone tempted to blame her for being gullible and who thinks it could never happen to them is already vulnerable. Thinking you’re too smart to be conned is the first step to being conned. I had a comparatively mild brush with a conman a few years ago. Luckily, I became suspicious early enough not to lose money, but he was very convincing, did dupe me initially and it was a close thing. I discovered online that many people had quite reasonably trusted what they’d been told, and ended up seriously out of pocket. It’s not nice to admit to being fooled, or realise that some people can lie to your face very adeptly and this experience shook my confidence in my own judgment, especially around financial matters. Carolyn Woods’ experience was so much more serious and financially and personally destructive, I think it’s extremely courageous of her to have gone public in the way that she has and a tremendous achievement to have not only faced Acklom in court and brought him to book but put her story down on paper and so eloquently. I hope that even if she isn’t active online herself the people around her will try to keep up publicity around Mark Acklom, her interviews and book so that when he is released from jail, and most likely straight goes back to doing what he does best, his targets have a greater chance of being forewarned.
MiraD –
I appreciate this woman’s strength and willingness to come forward and put her story to words. One of my favourite lines in the book, was when she describes how everyone had looked at her like a stupid woman who had been dumped until a business man had come forward to say on record he as well has been taken by this psychopathic conartist. Then suddenly, people took it seriously. She was just a dumb woman, but if A MAN could be conned then oh this is serious. Sister you hit it on the head there. It’s an excellent true crime read, and I wish this woman to hit that best seller list so her dreams can come true & she can buy her home she so rightly deserves. Read this book.
Laura –
I received the Audiobook in exchange for an honest review via HarperCollins UK Audio.I love true crime stories and the more bizarre the better, although this book entertained me, it also educated me.I knew nothing of this true story via news or press prior to reading this book so found it a fascinating read/listen. It is ultimately about how Carolyn was duped out of £850,000 by a psychopathic conman Mark Acklom, whilst also breaking down to the reader how psychopaths work.I’m glad this book has been published as it raises important awareness to how conmen work and at the end of each chapter all the techniques are broken down and explained in more detail the tactics used and what to watch out for. I did feel at time though that the author was trying to come to terms at how led astray she was and how she could have possibly fell for it in the first place. However this happens, psychopaths like this exist and I’m sure Carolyn is not the only woman this has ever happened too.I felt frustrated at how long the police took to investigate this crime and actually applaud Carolyn at how well she kept on top of collating evidence, another important aspect I took from this book is how important keeping evidence is. Although I was shocked at how Carolyn could fall for the deceit of Mark Acklom, I was impressed at how she never gave up on getting him arrested and charged.I finished this pleased to see how everything worked out in the end on the romance front for Carolyn. Even though both were led to each other in the most extraordinary and unbelievable circumstances.The audio narration by Jan Cramer also kept me engaged to this story throughout.