Setting: Scotland and Italy.
In the run-up to her wedding to the latest of her string of boyfriends, an Italian doctor called Joe (Giuseppe), Catriona returns to Scotland to, as her Mum put it, 'tie up loose ends', by which she meant re-visit her ex-boyfriends to resolve her past issues with them. What her Mum, Irene, didn't mean was that she should sleep with each of them - and certainly not then go on to murder and mutilate them! For this is what Catriona now stands accused of: three of her four ex-boyfriends (one didn't make it to Scotland when his flight was cancelled) have been found dead and Catriona, who suffers from bi-polar disorder and has occasional black-outs, cannot honestly tell the police that she didn't commit the crimes. She is now on remand, awaiting trial, but no murder weapon has been found. To add insult to injury, an author who has had candid interviews with Catriona and Irene and been granted access to all her records has written a damning manuscript, portraying Catriona as a bloodthirsty, man-hating murderer. But is all as it seems? As Catriona casts her mind back to her previous relationships and the events leading up to the murders, she starts to have doubts....
This was an intriguing tale by an author whose work I have come to appreciate greatly. The story meanders along interestingly although not totally gripping until just after halfway when it really takes off with a couple of astonishing twists. Overall, Catriona is a severely-flawed character yet I couldn't help but feel quite a lot of empathy for her as the story unfolded. Definitely enjoyed it and always on the look-out for more of her books - 9/10.