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An Intimate Obsession
When obsession becomes deadly… Eve Ridges fears the worst when her father suddenly goes missing. Suffering from Alzheimer’s, Bill Ridges is incredibly vulnerable, and a police investigation is soon under way. Right by Eve’s side is her neighbour, Hugh Scott, who is determined to help Eve find her father – or so it seems. For Hugh has secretly been in love with Eve for decades, and over the years his infatuation has only intensified. He has even planned their wedding and future life together – all unbeknownst to Eve. And as far as Hugh’s concerned, Bill’s disappearance is the perfect opportunity for him and Eve to finally be together… But Hugh’s carefully-laid plans are jeopardised when Eve finds solace in the arms of Jonathan Davies, a much younger man. And when Hugh finally reveals his true feelings, he is met with rejection. Humiliated, he begins to plot his revenge… Caught in the crosshairs of Hugh’s revenge plot, will Eve escape unscathed? And what really happened to Bill Ridges? An Intimate Obsession is a chilling psychological thriller that builds up to a shocking and violent climax. Praise for Elizabeth McGregor ‘Compulsive and claustrophobic … the writing embroiled me … and, like a pit-bull terrier, refused to let go. Just when it seemed the suspense had peaked, McGregor turned the ratchet another notch and forced me to read on … made me turn pages with an eagerness that defied sleep’ – Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News ‘Without doubt the most unputdownable psychological thriller I have come across for a long time.’ - The Lady Elizabeth McGregor is the pen name of Elizabeth Cooke. She also writes under the name Holly Fox and has had over a hundred stories and serials published in the UK and abroad. She has worked for both magazines and radio, and currently writes a weekly column for the Dorchester Guardian. She lives in Dorset with her husband, her daughter and the world’s most laid-back golden retriever.
398 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
19 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth McGregor
14 books17 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Elizabeth McGregor is a pseudonym for Elizabeth Cooke. She also writes as Holly Fox.
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Elizabeth McGregor is a pseudonym for Elizabeth Cooke. She also writes as Holly Fox.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 14, 2022
This is my fourth book by the author. You’d think I was a fan, but I wouldn’t go as far. In fact, two of the previous three were just ok and only one of them, You Belong to Me, was a standout. And then there’s this one, by far the weakest of the four. Why, you might ask?
Well, primarily due to being overdone into such dense chewy texture, you wouldn’t want to try it.
The thing is, McGregor is a good writer. Genuinely. At her best, she might remind one of Ruth Rendell with her dark psychological portraits of people on the verge of something potentially murderous. She just doesn’t plot quite as nicely.
The result might be a book like this one, thin-plotted and internalized to death. Almost literally.
Essentially, you spend almost the entire novel in the minds of its characters, mainly the protagonist – a schoolteacher in her 30s dedicated to taking care of her senile father, a man she never had any warm feelings for and yet can’t seem to just abandon in his time of need.
The father goes missing and the daughter proceeds to unravel.
Her unraveling is mostly in her mind, but she does also begin hooking up with a 19-year-old kid who is staying locally for the summer.
Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t go over well with her neighbor, a man who has been obsessed with her since forever.
Ah, you see, that is the titular intimate obsession. Which is…as opposed to what? All those impersonal obsessions?
Anyway, so that sordid scalene love triangle is basically what carries the entire novel. And it’s nowhere near enough. And even the strong inner lives writing isn’t enough. There’s too much intimacy, between the characters (imagined or otherwise), between the reader and the book (imposed or otherwise) and still not enough. There are simply too many pages and they move simply too slowly. Makes for a very, very torpid sort of read. Difficult to enjoy or recommend. Ok for a freebie, but that’s about it. No idea what Cosmopolitan was high on when they referred to this as riveting read. Pass.
Well, primarily due to being overdone into such dense chewy texture, you wouldn’t want to try it.
The thing is, McGregor is a good writer. Genuinely. At her best, she might remind one of Ruth Rendell with her dark psychological portraits of people on the verge of something potentially murderous. She just doesn’t plot quite as nicely.
The result might be a book like this one, thin-plotted and internalized to death. Almost literally.
Essentially, you spend almost the entire novel in the minds of its characters, mainly the protagonist – a schoolteacher in her 30s dedicated to taking care of her senile father, a man she never had any warm feelings for and yet can’t seem to just abandon in his time of need.
The father goes missing and the daughter proceeds to unravel.
Her unraveling is mostly in her mind, but she does also begin hooking up with a 19-year-old kid who is staying locally for the summer.
Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t go over well with her neighbor, a man who has been obsessed with her since forever.
Ah, you see, that is the titular intimate obsession. Which is…as opposed to what? All those impersonal obsessions?
Anyway, so that sordid scalene love triangle is basically what carries the entire novel. And it’s nowhere near enough. And even the strong inner lives writing isn’t enough. There’s too much intimacy, between the characters (imagined or otherwise), between the reader and the book (imposed or otherwise) and still not enough. There are simply too many pages and they move simply too slowly. Makes for a very, very torpid sort of read. Difficult to enjoy or recommend. Ok for a freebie, but that’s about it. No idea what Cosmopolitan was high on when they referred to this as riveting read. Pass.
March 7, 2017
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers
Eve lives with her father who is suffering from dementia. It is a difficult relationship as her father is aggressive with her sometimes and often goes wandering on his own. Eve is a teacher and struggles to hold down her job and care for her father. Hugh Scott lives next door and offers to help out looking after her father. One day her father goes missing, and Hugh helps Eve to find him. But, Hugh has a secret – he has been obsessed with Eve for years to the point where he has planned their future together. As far as Hugh’s concerned Eve’s father going missing is the perfect opportunity to start his relationship with Eve.
This is a strange book to review. The description sounded like a good psychological thriller. Unfortunately I found the book very slow going. It was very descriptive, almost to the point that I didn’t understand it. Descriptive is good, but not where it was difficult to read. I found it really difficult to get into the story for the majority of the time. This did though, in my opinion, only seemed to happen when it was told from Hugh’s perspective. When it was from Eve’s perspective the story seemed to flow better, and began to think that I might be able to enjoy the book, but then it turned again when the story changed.
I don’t like to leave anything less than a positive review, but I really couldn’t get into the story. The storyline seemed promising, but the writing just wasn’t for me. Sorry!
Eve lives with her father who is suffering from dementia. It is a difficult relationship as her father is aggressive with her sometimes and often goes wandering on his own. Eve is a teacher and struggles to hold down her job and care for her father. Hugh Scott lives next door and offers to help out looking after her father. One day her father goes missing, and Hugh helps Eve to find him. But, Hugh has a secret – he has been obsessed with Eve for years to the point where he has planned their future together. As far as Hugh’s concerned Eve’s father going missing is the perfect opportunity to start his relationship with Eve.
This is a strange book to review. The description sounded like a good psychological thriller. Unfortunately I found the book very slow going. It was very descriptive, almost to the point that I didn’t understand it. Descriptive is good, but not where it was difficult to read. I found it really difficult to get into the story for the majority of the time. This did though, in my opinion, only seemed to happen when it was told from Hugh’s perspective. When it was from Eve’s perspective the story seemed to flow better, and began to think that I might be able to enjoy the book, but then it turned again when the story changed.
I don’t like to leave anything less than a positive review, but I really couldn’t get into the story. The storyline seemed promising, but the writing just wasn’t for me. Sorry!
December 25, 2016
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An Intimate Obsession is a very tense thriller.
I always had an issue with the characters - in particular, Eve struck me as too nonchalant or more naive than possible. I often wondered how she could take care of her father like that, considering how he acted while she was growing up. On the other hand, Jon did not sound 19 at all, especially in the beginning.
However, they are all very well developed, have multiple sides to them and evolve in a deep manner. The psychological charge is just so intense in this book. The highlight for me was definitely the interaction between Hugh and Bill. Both of them shocked and repulsed me, which completely gripped my attention.
From then point on though, I felt like the book dragged on quite a bit. The fact is the most fascinating part for me had passed. It was interesting seeing a character devolve so much in the last chapters but it paled in comparison to what I had felt reading that one scene.
An Intimate Obsession is better than any psychological thrillers I have read lately so I do recommend it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
An Intimate Obsession is a very tense thriller.
I always had an issue with the characters - in particular, Eve struck me as too nonchalant or more naive than possible. I often wondered how she could take care of her father like that, considering how he acted while she was growing up. On the other hand, Jon did not sound 19 at all, especially in the beginning.
However, they are all very well developed, have multiple sides to them and evolve in a deep manner. The psychological charge is just so intense in this book. The highlight for me was definitely the interaction between Hugh and Bill. Both of them shocked and repulsed me, which completely gripped my attention.
From then point on though, I felt like the book dragged on quite a bit. The fact is the most fascinating part for me had passed. It was interesting seeing a character devolve so much in the last chapters but it paled in comparison to what I had felt reading that one scene.
An Intimate Obsession is better than any psychological thrillers I have read lately so I do recommend it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
February 5, 2017
It is very rare for me not to finish a book, however I got 75% of the way into this book and... was.... bored. Very very slow paced and despite the promising story-line, this book just did not take off for me. If tightened up and perhaps shortened, this could have been a great book, however I lost interest. Just not for me.
April 21, 2018
Woah it's like I really feel bad for Hugh. It's not the kind of pity that Eve has for his character, but true empathy. I really can't get into how I feel about the type of woman Eve is. She's just so blah, and she had choices better choices in life. Alot of people's childhood's aren't good,but she had it good when she grew up. She made the choice to live a mundane life and take care of a father she doesn't have affection for instead of putting him a home. She's a glutten for punishment and deserved everything coming that came her way, because she was forewarned by everybody including Hugh duh!! So I just can't with her. So the in depth way the author wrote about Hugh and the way he was raised, and the way he felt about Eve was pure not evil until she kept sending mixed signals and her character was doing that. Bill maybe was an asshole as an husband and father but that didn't give Hugh the right to kill him especially the way he did was just despicable!
February 18, 2017
More like a Disturbing Obsession
I had such a difficult time getting through this book. It could have easily been written as a much shorter story. The author rambled on and on with irrelevant descriptions of everything from past conversations to what the scenery looked like. The characters were all really odd and I didn't feel a connection to any if them at all. In my mid, Hugh was a disgusting, dirty, uneducated blob of a man. He made me gag every time he talked. Each time I picked this book up to read it, I had to struggle not to mark it as DNF. It was definitely a struggle. Sick and twisted, long and drawn out.
I had such a difficult time getting through this book. It could have easily been written as a much shorter story. The author rambled on and on with irrelevant descriptions of everything from past conversations to what the scenery looked like. The characters were all really odd and I didn't feel a connection to any if them at all. In my mid, Hugh was a disgusting, dirty, uneducated blob of a man. He made me gag every time he talked. Each time I picked this book up to read it, I had to struggle not to mark it as DNF. It was definitely a struggle. Sick and twisted, long and drawn out.
October 4, 2017
The novel was beautifully written in many ways but it became long-drawn out in the second half, unfortunately. I was also puzzled by the strange relationship with the teenage Jon, although I'm not at all sure that he was written as a 19 year old; he seemed much older as the story progressed, although very young at the beginning. Eve seemed so passive, and many of her actions (or lack of action) came across as odd, that later in the book it became difficult to identify with her character. A good portrait of obsession, though. A difficult one to assess.
August 27, 2021
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley.
ELIZABETH MCGREGOR's novels are always thrilling. "An Intimate Obsession" is a keeps your nerves frayed and your eyes wide open throughout every page. I love her books!
ELIZABETH MCGREGOR's novels are always thrilling. "An Intimate Obsession" is a keeps your nerves frayed and your eyes wide open throughout every page. I love her books!
August 9, 2017
Totally creepy. Eve was too naive.
January 8, 2017
This book had such a promising synopysis that I am very disappointed in it.
To begin with, these characters felt very one dimensional. Eve seemed a lot younger than she was supposed to be, both in her demeanor as well as the naivety that she presented. On the flip side of that Jon? Did not come across as only being nineteen. And Hugh? I really didn't understand him at all. It almost seemed as though at times he was the same age as Eve's father, then at times he seemed younger. And even though he was obsessed with Eve, he seemed at times to almost have the mental capacity of a child. Even when Eve said no, he didn't understand.
Added to that, this novel seemed to drag on to the point that I found myself wanting to skip parts of it just to find out what happened. Usually a lot of descriptive passages is a good idea, but not when it becomes so much that the reader becomes confused. And then when we finally got to the end of the story? I still felt like there were things that were left unresolved.
All in all, this was a solid concept that I think will still appeal to those who enjoy psychological stories, however this one just wasn't for me.
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
To begin with, these characters felt very one dimensional. Eve seemed a lot younger than she was supposed to be, both in her demeanor as well as the naivety that she presented. On the flip side of that Jon? Did not come across as only being nineteen. And Hugh? I really didn't understand him at all. It almost seemed as though at times he was the same age as Eve's father, then at times he seemed younger. And even though he was obsessed with Eve, he seemed at times to almost have the mental capacity of a child. Even when Eve said no, he didn't understand.
Added to that, this novel seemed to drag on to the point that I found myself wanting to skip parts of it just to find out what happened. Usually a lot of descriptive passages is a good idea, but not when it becomes so much that the reader becomes confused. And then when we finally got to the end of the story? I still felt like there were things that were left unresolved.
All in all, this was a solid concept that I think will still appeal to those who enjoy psychological stories, however this one just wasn't for me.
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
April 22, 2017
Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book.
I really wanted to like this book. The description sounded intriguing and I love a good thriller! There were some parts I liked, but ultimately, this novel ran a little too long for me. The descriptions were great, but a bit much for me. I started skipping and speed-reading & ultimately this one wasn't for me.
I really wanted to like this book. The description sounded intriguing and I love a good thriller! There were some parts I liked, but ultimately, this novel ran a little too long for me. The descriptions were great, but a bit much for me. I started skipping and speed-reading & ultimately this one wasn't for me.
June 18, 2019
An sich eine ganz gute Stalker-Roman. Ich brauchte etwas Zeit, um in das Buch hinein zu kommen, da mir der Schreibstil der Autorin nicht so ganz zusagte. Und ich habe mich auch über die extreme Naivität der Protagonistin Eve aufgeregt. Wie kann jemand so dumm sein und sich wirklich alles schön reden? Fast hätte ich am Ende gesagt: Geschieht dir vollkommen zu Recht!
January 11, 2017
This psychological drama takes its time to develop a fast pace, too many destracting descriptions slow down the story.
Bill's illness and Hugh's delusional concept of life seem real, but Eve and Jon are not as believable. The outcome of Hugh's obsession and Eve's denial of reality is devastating.
Bill's illness and Hugh's delusional concept of life seem real, but Eve and Jon are not as believable. The outcome of Hugh's obsession and Eve's denial of reality is devastating.
Want to Read
November 9, 2015Prior to reading the book: I have no idea why the translators decided to change the name of the protagonist from Hugh to Paul, it was absolutely 100% not necessary... Whatever.
April 7, 2009
Slightly overlong, I thought, but overall satisfying.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews