Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
Yvonne Carmichael sits in the witness box. The charge is murder. Before all of this, she was happily married, a successful scientist, a mother of two. Now she's a suspect, squirming under fluorescent lights and the penetrating gaze of the alleged accomplice who's sitting across from her, watching: a man who's also her lover. As Yvonne faces hostile questioning, she must piece together the story of her affair with this unnamed figure who has charmed and haunted her. This is a tale of sexual intrigue, ruthless urges, and danger, which has blindsided her from a seemingly innocuous angle. Here in the courtroom, everything hinges on one night in a dark alley called Apple Tree Yard.
Julie's Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Intriguing story, if a little anti-climatic.
Yvonne Carmichael, educated, married mother with a successful career gets caught up with the 'mundane' events of her daily life, until one chance encounter takes her on a very different, out-of-character journey.
Was it the fact that she was made to feel special? Valued for who she was, as a woman, or was it the thrill of doing something so out of the ordinary?
She embarks on a clandestine relationship, although she is still her! No outward changes - she still goes about her daily life, work, home, kids, but whilst holding onto a secret.
Then one fateful evening, begins the start of the demise with a colleague, who takes the utmost liberty with her in her drunken state and so the events start to change and have an impact. She confides in her lover, rather than her long-standing husband, where a plan of sorts is devised.
Life has an odd way of making things feel 'normal', only to find out things happen in life for reasons, sometimes unknown.
Did the colleague deserve his outcome? Probably not, but then he would have never left her alone, and become to be more of a monster than he already was. He had a very sinister attitude about him.
The lover, a seemingly nice chap, but with both hidden secrets and agenda. I do think he had very deep feelings for Yvonne, but was more excited with keeping the two worlds separate.
I felt there was more to him than we got, maybe a sequel focusing around him, with maybe his thoughts whilst away from her.
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