Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall – Non Spoiler Review

Digital ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Book: Our Kind of Cruelty

Author: Araminta Hall

Pages: 320

Genre: Thriller

Publication Date: May 8, 2018

My rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

This is a love story. This is a tragedy. This is a book about a break up so bad that when you put the pieces of the love story back together, what you get is MURDER …

***

Mike knows that most of us travel through the world as one half of a whole, desperately searching for that missing person to make us complete.

But he and Verity are different. They have found each other and nothing and no one will tear them apart.

It doesn’t matter that Verity is marrying another man.

You see, Verity and Mike play a game together, a secret game they call ‘the crave’, the aim being to demonstrate what they both know: that Verity needs Mike, and only Mike.

Verity’s upcoming marriage is the biggest game she and Mike have ever played. And it’s for the highest stakes.

Except this time in order for Mike and Verity to be together someone has to die …

I don’t get to read many thrillers where the main POV is from the male stalker. I really enjoyed listening to You by Caroline Kepnes on audio (Santino Fontana’s voice is brilliant) so that’s what attracted me to Our Kind of Cruelty. While I know You had very polarizing reviews, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book, but I wanted to give it a chance.

The basics are pretty simple: Mike and Verity are in love. They play a game called ‘crave’, where they go to a night club separately. Verity waits for someone to hit on her while Mike watches from afar. Then he swoops in to ‘save’ her. This turns them on. But after 7 years together, Verity breaks up with Mike, and announces she’s getting married to another man. Mike is devastated, but he is convinced this is just another, more hyped-up version, of their crave game. You see, Mike and Verity have their own codes and signals, and Mike knows this is all a part of some grand plan to be together again.

Or is it?

Our Kind of Cruelty starts out with Part 1, Mike’s inner monologues. We get into his head and see what he does on a day to day basis. I wasn’t quite sure what to think when I was reading this part. I just didn’t know how much crazy I was going to encounter. I kept thinking to myself, “What exactly is the plot of this book? Because I am all sorts of confused right now.” Once the book segues into Part Two, things really begin to pick up. Is Verity really trying to get rid of Mike, or is she still playing the crave? Is Mike really the delusional, obsessive ex-boyfriend?

I won’t reveal any more details because I don’t want to spoil it for you. If you want to delve into the mind of a stalker and read about twisted games, then this may be your jam. There isn’t any action, and the sex and violence is minor. I was pulled into the story once I got to Part 2, and I felt so much anger and disgust. I will hand it to the author, she does a great job at invoking these emotions in me. I love a good page-turning psychological thriller. While I did enjoy the structure, writing, and overall story, it was a middle of the road read for me.

Our Kind of Cruelty releases May 8, 2018. Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy for review.

Please be advised: Trigger warning for abusive relationships, stalking.

xx,

Amy