Alice Loudon is a successful London thirtysomething; she has the friends, the career, the flat and the loving boyfriend. Her life seems destined to follow a comfortable, conventional route until one morning her eyes lock with a beautiful, mesmerising man as she crosses a road. When Alice leaves work he is still there, waiting. Without exchanging names they go back to his Soho flat and have "obliterating sex". Unable to overcome her passionate feelings for him, Alice … mehrabandons the life she had established for herself to marry the powerful, taciturn Adam, a celebrated mountaineer but a virtual stranger. As their relationship develops, Alice discovers that Adam's beautiful exterior belies disturbing aggressive tendencies. He is by turns abusive and loving. In an attempt to understand her new husband and her reaction to him, she launches an investigation into his past and, in particular, his past relationships. Sadly for her, the unsettling details she uncovers do not provide the reassurance she needs. Ultimately, Alice jeopardises her own safety to stay with a man she loves to the point of obsession but fears in equal measure. This book is a disturbing novel, describing the descent of a woman who had been totally in control of her own destiny--from being vibrant and strong to cowering behind an armchair as she hears her husband approaching. A roller coaster of a novel, the final heart-pounding finale is nothing short of a white knuckle ride. --Sarah Crawford weniger