Soul/Mate

by Rosamond Smith, Joyce Carol Oates

A visitor in his relatives' wealthy community, Colin Asch is an expert, remorseless killer whose twisted love becomes fixed to the beautiful Dorothea Deverell, for whom he will murder relentlessly

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery, American, Crime, The United States Of America

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Rosamond Smith is a pseudonym for Joyce Carol Oates.

Reviews

[Always Pouting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothea works at a nonprofit institution in Boston and is primed to take her boss's place when he retires. One of the board members however wants his nephew to take the position and starts a campaign against Dorothea, using her 'feminist tenancies' as a reason to not promote her. Meanwhile she continues on with her long time affair with a married friend whose wife's emotion problems and substance abuse continues to worsen. When Colin comes into the picture however all of Dorothea's problems start to solve themselves, and though she is charmed by him, Dorothea also has an underlying apprehension towards Colin. Colin has had a tragic life and finds understand with Dorothea. Colin's obsession with Dorothea begins to consume all his time as he does whatever he can to get closer to her.

I personally enjoyed this one, it's my third book by Oates and it's better than the last one I read. I have noticed however the all her antagonists so far have been mentally ill, and I'm hoping that's not going to be a thing that's consistent. I mean I know people with different ways of thinking and emotion problems make more interesting characters but at the same time I'm kind of like uh... because you know I just don't like the implication that all killers are mentally ill it just makes me feel annoyed. Anyways I did enjoy this one and I really liked reading Colin's perspective much more than Dorothea's. I didn't like Dorothea very much and I do think the ending was less strong than the rest of the book, especially when you get to the climax of the book. Anyway I have I think two more ARCs from Oates so we'll see how I feel when I get through them as well.

[Paul E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little different perspective than your average murder mystery because you know immediately who the killer is. I admit that could take a lot of the "mystery" out of the story but not when the mystery turns to who will be killed next. Very well done story (a little 80's nostalgic for me). A lot of tension and expectation. I wont give anything else away.
Just expect to be surprised with how well this was written.

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

joyce carol oates writing as rosamond smith is a writer of thrillers, often ones concerned with dualities within human nature. it is an interesting side project for an amazing writer. in Soul/Mate, she seems rather less concerned with dualities and more concerned with a kind of pastiche of the romantic thriller, complete with various overblown situations, scarcely believable characters, and almost purple prose. it is an interesting book because oates is an interesting writer; it is also rather off-putting, maybe because the romantic thriller is still quite alive and breathing. nothing new is being said here, which is unusual from an author who usually surprises me with her insights. still, the novel features a very sympathetic psychopath, which is always an entertaining achievement. and the writing is a savory thing.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mouth-droppingly fantastic writing, very satisfying character/town building and of course some incredible psychopathy.

[Okenwillow · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’avais adoré Les chutes du même auteur, c’est donc avec plein d’espoir que j’ai entamé la lecture du sourire de l’ange. Veuve et maîtresse d’un homme marié, Dorothea Deverell fait la connaissance d’un jeune homme qui parvient à se faire apprécier de la plupart des gens, usant de son physique et de son charme naturel. La jeune femme découvrira pourtant la face obscure de Colin, redoutable psychopathe. Un thriller sans enquêteur ni détective, avec des personnages fouillés comme sait les dépeindre Oates, dans un environnement presque banal. Le roman ne suit donc pas le déroulement habituel d’un thriller ou d’un polar, on connaît le coupable dès le départ, on assiste à ses méfaits au fur et à mesure. L’originalité réside dans ce traitement peu habituel, et l’intérêt n’est en rien diminué par le manque de suspens : les personnages portent l’histoire.

[Lolly K Dandeneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colin Asch had in fact always relied upon the world’s stupidity as a factor in his own talent. Amid a herd of slow-witted bovine beasts he was a leopard capable of running at speeds up to seventy-five miles an hour- a flash of burnished flaming light.
via my blog https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
Dorothea Deverell, a New England art historian, goes about her days as a widow, working in a Boston Museum. She has a lover, if not entirely hers to keep, and is content to simply live her life as is. Little does she know she is about to be charmed into a strange sort of affair with a charming, psychopath- the damaged yet brilliant young nephew of her friend. No one understands Colin Asch, and if he has to kill to rid the world of such people, so be it. That his disturbing darkness is hidden behind his beautiful face makes the horror brewing within him all the more chilling. Enraptured by Dorothea, his mania drives him to seduce her, by wiping out anyone who upsets her. He watches when she is unaware, and the reader is privy to the eerie euphoria that drives his urges. Colin Asch goes from sullen boyishness to successful, fashionable business success- using others to attain the life he imagines will please Dorothea. It is for Dorothea, he wants so badly to impress her.

There is a kinship, or has Dorothea misread her apprehension, confusing instinctual fear for tenderness and curiosity. The eyes, it’s a soul/mate knowing, at least from Colin’s warped perception. Dorothea’s kindness, beauty, success and intelligence are all the things that mesmerize the young man, the very person he struggles so hard now to be. This striving will lead to murders, and a unraveling of Colin’s mind. No one understands Colin as Dorothea does, the only person able to soothe this “Angel of Death”. The very attributes he admires are what puts Dorothea in danger- allows this serial killer an intimate window into her once simple life. Conversations between the two feed him like a drug, and Dorothea cannot deny his ‘characteristic effervescence’ and charm. And if his ‘rapid talk’ begins to seem strange, it is always ‘electric’ and ‘witty’. His stormy energy has an allure all it’s own, much like the beautiful poetry by “Shelley” that the young man reads. “She knew” Colin knows that Dorothea too can sense the destiny, the very kindred ties of their souls. If she senses something is off, well then she is just being silly. Right?

Both charmed and repelled by Colin, Dorothea has no idea of he dark days lurking, all nurtured by the obsessive, distorted love Colin feels for her. Confused by his appearances, the strange comments he allows to slip, she feels something is wrong and yet doubts herself. There is an immediately intimacy, but too there is something in her gut not quite right. Surely, he couldn’t be falling for her, an older woman? Her old inner voice, her companion of self-doubt that has always been present may well cloud her own warnings. But what of those slips? As when great violence befalls an adversary of Dorothea’s he seems to delight in the ‘justice’ that has befallen this ‘evil person’. Colin is waiting, waiting to share everything with her, all his deeds, his secrets buried in coded language, because Dorothea is the one. Dorothea alone understands him. He has found, among the ‘slow-witted bovine beasts’ an angel, a beloved, a soul/mate. It is only a matter of time before he unleashes his terror, and reveals his true self to his beloved.

What Joyce Carol Oates, writing as Rosamond Smith, has done is take a damaged sick young man and allowed the reader to feel his mania. More, she shows the cracks that make people uneasy and how we see what we want to see. His beautiful face is mistaken for goodness, as is often the case in most situations. Beauty, intelligence, and charm is the path of easy seduction. Wounded beauty is an intoxicating lure much more so than success. Dorothea spots the split between the depressive, insecure, angry man she first met to who he later suddenly becomes and yet shakes it out of her mind, surely she is mistaken? Colin knows how to work people, he knows how to evade others inquisitiveness when it’s not spotlighting that which he wishes to be seen.

Joyce Carol Oates has a particular style, voice that I’ve always enjoyed. She exposes the ugliness as much as the beauty in her characters. They can be brilliant and yet blind about so much. There is always a vulnerability with solid background, you almost feel sorry for Colin. He is a wounded beauty, an orphan, a loner, a roamer… and his episodes of mania swallow him, then he is a bloodthirsty, maniacal, manipulative and downright creepy. Be careful who you let in. The devil is all charm and beauty, at least this thriller Soul/Mate. Do we all really want such a kinship?

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[Kathy Roaleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book

Ms Oates is my favorite author of literary fiction. ALL her books are great. That said, this one is less great than most. Several times while reading I'd be blindsided by a particularly creative apt and articulate phrase. Ms Oates has always had that effect on me. More often than not I get wrapped up in her reality and get lost in time and space. However, that did not happen in this book. For some reason, I have less empathy and/or understanding of her main character-for all of these particular characters. I'm not placing responsibility with Ms Oates. I just couldn't relate. I have my own bit of trauma in my own history, and that may account for my response. I will need to cogitate a bit on this to see if I get more clarity.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really thought a book about a psychopathic stalker wouldn’t be so boring. This is the first JCO book I’ve disliked.

[Géraldine · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Ce livre à été écrit sous le pseudonyme Rosamond Smith

Un thriller original car le nom du tueur nous est révélé très tôt.

Dorothea, veuve de bonne heure à l'orée de la quarantaine, est une femme équilibrée tant par son travail dans une Fondation promouvant les arts, que par sa relation avec son amant de longue date, Charles, un homme marié. Une vie d'habitudes mais sans ennuis, agrémentée par des amis gentils. Bien sûr, il y a de petites contrariétés : un administrateur de la Fondation souhaite l'évincer ; Charles ne se décide pas à bouleverser sa vie pour assumer son histoire d'amour avec elle. Cependant, sa petite vie est tranquille dans une petite ville sans histoires.

Un soir, la petite communauté d'amis se voit rejointe par Colin Ash, apparenté à l'un d'eux. Il est jeune, très beau, à la fois fragile et intelligent, d'une sensibilité exacerbée, il détonne, surprend, séduit, tant par sa personnalité que par son tragique destin : enfant, il a assisté à l'accident mortel de ses parents et n'a pu les sauver. Depuis lors, instable, il a oscillé entre folie et désespoir, et, à la recherche de lui-même à parcouru le monde.

Aux premiers mots de Dorothea, Colin s'éprend d'elle. Non pas d'une vulgaire passion amoureuse, mais d'un Pur Amour de poète. Il y a voit le signe du destin qu'il espérait, et décide de s'établir durablement en ville auprès de cette âme sœur.

Bien sûr, l'apaisement ne dure pas, et son naturel, qui consiste à tuer les gens qui le déçoivent, l'encombrent, le contrarient, ou à qui il prête ces intentions, réapparaît.

Paru en 1989, le récit prend place dans une société désuète (pas de portables, ni d'internet,...) , voire légèrement surannée.. Mais, les pages se tournent toutes seules : on sait que Colin va tuer. On sait que son obsession pour Dorothea ne sera pas sans conséquences. Le suspens est bien pensé, l'auteure nous entraînant parfois dans les pensées de Colin, parfois dans celle de Dorothea.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a really entertaining and compelling novel, but perhaps one that doesn’t bear too much literary scrutiny. Writing as Rosamond Smith, Joyce Carol Oates here ventures into the genre of romantic thriller, and does it very competently. Colin Asch, her protagonist, appears at first to be a charming and attractive young man, if a somewhat troubled one. He becomes fixated on Dorothea Deverell, an art historian working at a Boston institution, and she is initially intrigued, even attracted, by him. But the reader knows from the start that Asch has already killed. Could he kill again? And will Dorothea becomes his next victim? The tension is cleverly maintained, and it’s not a predictable read by any means, although admittedly not one that always avoids stereotype and cliché. But taken overall it’s an interesting and convincing portrait of a psychopath and his victims, and an absorbing fun read.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothea Deverell is a young widow working in a Boston museum. She's at a dinner party when the host's young nephew turns up unannounced...Colin Asch. Colin is beyond handsome, charming and is immediately taken with Dorothea. In his mind he declares them soul mates.

Colin has had a very traumatic past. He's decided to stay in Boston, living with his aunt, and seeking employment. He is obsessed with Dorothea and shows up at the oddest times at her home, work, and social gatherings. Dorothea is seeing someone and while she is flattered by all of Colin's attention, something makes her uncomfortable. It should.......

Once again, JCO {writing as Rosamond Smith} hits the jackpot with this gripping, thrilling, and creepy love story. This book is intense and exciting.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates, in my opinion, is always worth reading on many levels. Many of her novels have a sinister element in either her characters, or setting or both. She has written many gothic novels that illustrate her ability to describe the most creepiest of situations and her characters. The story of Dorothea and Colin is no exeption, no gothics, but a wholly ethereal and dangerous character is Colin.

[twrctdrv]

Maybe the definitive example of a mid JCO thriller. It has a lot of the elements of her better ones (killers, breathless prose, boundlessly uncomfortable (to bourgeois eyes) desires), but none of them much get to something. It just sort of... occurs. It is, to misuse Vonnegut, what it pretends to be.

Maybe this is what the Rosamond Smith novels are, though: a place to finish uninteresting novels.

[Whittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting but some parts didn't make sense, maybe on purpose?

Although I did like the ending.

[Buchdoktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorothea ist seit Jahren verwitwet. Sie wird ab und zu von befreundeten Paaren mit dem leicht durchschaubaren Ziel eingeladen, sie einem möglichen Partner vorzustellen und ihren Kampf gegen die Einsamkeit endlich zu beenden. Auch die Weidmanns fühlen sich verpflichtet, Dorotheas Glück auf die Sprünge zu helfen. Dorotheas verstorbener Mann und Martin Weidmann kannten sich schon seit ihrer Studentenzeit. Warum Paare Singles einladen, hat Dorothea nie verstanden. Sie ahnt, dass diese Einladung verlaufen wird wie alle anderen vorher. Ihr Tischnachbar wird von seinem Beruf erzählen und Dorothea wird dann kaum mehr zu Wort kommen. Männer fragen Frauen nie nach ihrem Beruf. Unerwartet taucht an diesem Abend der Großneffe der Weidmanns auf. Das Schicksal des Besuchers, das Ginny Weidmann genussvoll ausposaunt, während Colin im Obergeschoss duscht, lässt beim Leser alle Warnlampen aufleuchten. Colin war seit dem Unfalltod seiner Eltern immer wieder in sonderbare Ereignisse verwickelt und zeigte schon früh alle Merkmale eines Psychopathen. Depressionen, Magersucht, sexueller Missbrauch im Internat, Colin ist einfach ein "armer Junge", zu naiv für die böse Welt. Natürlich machen nur andere Menschen Fehler, provozieren Colin unnötig und wollen ihm irgendwelche Therapien aufschwatzen. Colin Asch weckt sofort den Gluckentrieb der anwesenden älteren Frauen und fühlt sich besonders zu Dorothea hingezogen. Der Mann sieht gut aus und ist sich dessen bewusst. Obwohl Dorothea Colin durchschaut, füht sie sich in seiner Anwesenheit aufgewertet. Offenbar kann auch sie ihren Gluckentrieb jüngeren Menschen gegenüber nur schwer steuern. Colin fühlt sich durch Dorotheas Interesse ebenfalls aufgewertet; denn sie sieht von den anwesenden Frauen am besten aus.

Colin erfährt, dass Dorothea im Beruf einen unangenehmen Widersacher hat. Bei der Besetzung einer Stelle, die im Einvernehmen aller Dorothea zugedacht ist, sieht sie sich heftigem Widerstand eines Kuratoriumsmitglieds gegenüber, das einen eigenen Kandidaten durchsetzen will. Als Dorotheas Kritiker auf spektakuläre Weise ums Leben kommt, sieht noch alles nach einem gewöhnlichen Raubüberfall aus. Doch dieser Todesfall ist erst der Beginn einer Reihe äußerst beunruhigender Ereignisse, von denen sonderbarerweise jedes Mal Dorothea einen Vorteil hat.

Ausgehend von der hinreißenden Szene, in der Ginny Weidmann versucht, Dorothea zu verkuppeln, bis in die absonderlichen Gedankengänge eines Psychopathen zeichnet Joyce Carol Oate als "Rosamond Smith" Milieu und Figuren mit leisem Zynismus und einer bewundernswerten Beobachtungsgabe. "Dein Tod mein Leben" hat mir mit seinen Frauenfiguren, die einem Killer verfallen, von ihren Psychothrillern bisher am besten gefallen.

[Estibaliz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2, con una clasificación visible de tres estrellas, en lugar de cuatro, por la sencilla razón de que el final me ha resultado un tanto brusco y precipitado, aunque probablemente la historia no podría terminar de otra forma. En cualquier caso, esta "Alma Cómplice" es una novela de género negro, centrada en el aspecto psicológico, con personajes cautivadores y muy bien escrita.

No obstante, y como ya digo, al protagonista se le ve venir, especialmente por su comportamiento bipolar, que no pasa desapercibido... y no me refiero al hecho de que sea un psicópata asesino, que eso es algo que ya sabemos simplemente con leer el extracto de la contraportada, sino a la motivación última de su comportamiento y su claro desequilibrio mental.

Lo dicho: buena, recomendable... pero empieza mejor de lo que acaba.

[Conrad Ambrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Oates has a roving and imaginative mind.

In our part of the country (I lived a couple miles from her Lockport home for many years) we say "Joyce has the most interesting mind on the planet. Just not THIS planet!"

Fascinating, intriguing plot, handsome psychopathic serial killer, develops a fixation on an innocent (Oates-like) woman, etc. She must have a fascinating dream life is all I can say!

But Oates makes the same mistake other famous writers do -- she writes like a famous Princeton writer with the cadences and grammatical stuffiness of Princeton (or Stanford or Berkeley) writers who do not talk the way WE (that's you and me homey) do. It can get annoying to hear adverbs misplaced, sentences truncated for formality and so on. Fun book, but for gods sake, come on -- listen to the way real people, like Lockport NY people, talk!

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible

Couldn't wait till it was over. Bad characters, no suspense. Boring as hell. Wasn't worth the money. Don't recommend. Ugh.

[Jennifer Zimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Arminda Loewenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulously thrilling!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillingly, descriptive, plot driven, fast, but gripping novels. Thank you Joyce Carol Oates!

[Kristel]

Un thriller, quoi.

[Jeym · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this when i couldnt find frankenstein: city of night lol