TW: If you have food or diet-related triggers, then proceed with caution as this book & this review deal with fat-phobia & diet culture.
Six women are chosen from dozens of applicants to attend the Beautiful You clinic which has been established in what was a Victorian asylum, then psychiatric hospital, until it was finally closed down in the 1980s. The clinic offers the women a program of exercise & beauty treatments, & when the women arrive they are greeted by Dr Cavendish, her two assistants, Kim & Tina, & physical fitness coach, Robert. The women, Amy, Gaynor, Audrey, Caroline, Vicky, & Jasmine settle down to their routine for the next few weeks. There are a few odd things, such as the contract they all had to sign, the fact their suitcases were checked for 'contraband', the very restrictive diet, the 'vitamin' injections, & the nightly pills - but they all seem to get a good night's rest & the first week most of them successfully lose weight.
Still, the clinic is situated well away from the nearest towns & apart from the four staff & a few security guards patrolling the grounds, they are isolated & their phones have been confiscated from them. Meanwhile, former patient, Jenny, is paid by an ambitious housing developer who wants the land the clinic is built on, to sneak into the old building & take photographs of any health & safety breaches. Jenny was in the old hospital for over 10 years & knows her way around the building, but whilst she is there, she realises that there is something not quite right.
The narrative is told mainly by Amy, with some chapters from Jenny, & Dr Cavendish's point of view. Cavendish starts off as gently encouraging the women but as some start to rebel against the strict diet & exercise regime, that veneer is gradually chipped away. The clinic is marketed as self-improvement but let's be honest, it's a weight loss clinic, & those who fail to live by the rules are punished. Amy sneaks a chocolate bar & some sweets in but when Dr Cavendish finds out (she checks her 'guests' rooms whilst they are exercising), Amy is given laxatives, but even this didn't prepare me for the conclusion of the book.
It's a gripping read that examines the societal pressure on people, women especially, to look physically perfect. The clinic's motto is “Diet and Discipline Determine our Destiny”, basically looks matter & to be successful, you have to look the part, no matter what it takes. 4.5 stars (rounded down)
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Joffe Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.